I ever since I saw Nadia of Food My Muse stuff tomatoes with pesto pastina, I had been trying to think of how I could get some of the beef in my freezer into some fresh tomatoes. My main inspiration was spaghetti and meatballs… which I hesitate to even say because we got so far from that.
I don’t like to make such grand statements, but these were SO FREAKING GOOD.
It’s kind of the flavors of spaghetti and meatballs, kind of the flavors of pesto pasta, and kind of completely its own thing. Hope that helps, HA! I think you’ll love them.
Herby Pastina and Beef stuffed Tomatoes
A bright and comforting summer dish using all your garden favorites with a freezer staple: ground beef
Ingredients
Stuffed Tomatoes
- 8 heirloom tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium shallot finely diced
- 1 cup pastina
- Reserved herbs from herb oil see below, could also sub with 2 T pesto or just leave it out if you aren’t making herb oil
- ½ cup pecorino romano
- 1 T Olive oil
Herb oil:
- 1/4 cup basil
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 1/4 cup chives
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the stuffed tomatoes:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Hollow out tomatoes, salt, and turn upside down on paper towels to remove excess moisture (a trick I learned from watching @foodmymuse)
- Take the inside of the tomatoes, blend up, and reserve
- In a pan over medium heat, add olive oil, shallots, and garlic
- Once fragrant, add ground beef. Break up and brown the beef, leaving them in decent-sized chunks
- Add ½ of pureed tomatoes, about 1 tsp salt, and let reduce down
- In a separate pot of boiling salted water (use water from blanching herbs if making her oil), cook pastina until 1 minute under al dente.
- Add pastina into pan with beef, the herbs or pesto, and pecorino romano and combine well. Adjust salt to taste.
- Stuff tomatoes with mixture and top with freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven until cheese is browned – about 20 minutes.
- Serve with herb oil, calabrian chili oil, more freshly grated pecorino romano, and garlic breadcrumbs for texture
Herb oil:
- Combine herbs and oil in a blender until as smooth as possible
- Strain oil and reserve solids to add to filling
- Store in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving to allow flavors to develop
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!