Roasted Heirlooms with Cheese

This is the easiest and most delicious recipe I have come across in, well, maybe forever!

And you have to make it while Heirlooms are still in season. So don't postpone joy!

This was inspired by what Nigel Slater said in the tomato video I posted a while back.

Recipe

Core two large heirloom tomatoes (or as many as you want; 1 tomato per serving), I used a German Striped and a Brandywine.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Peel one clove of garlic and slice it into 8 slivers (in the picture above I did 4 and thought they were, in the end, too large).

Take 4 garlic spears and insert them into the flesh of the tomato from inside the hollowed out core.

Into the hollowed out core add 1 Tablespoon of fresh herbs (reserving a pinch of herb for the top of the cheese), I used Thyme, but Basil or Rosemary or Oregano or whatever else inspires you would be fine. Then stuff the tomato with about 2 ounces of cheese, I used a local cheese, Kunik which is a mix of goat and cows milk.

Place in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the reserved herb, salt and grated black pepper.

Roast for about 30 minutes, until the seams of the tomatoes are cracking and the cheese is bubbly and melted.

We ate this with bread, but I think it would be great if you were to make a cheesy pasta, Gnocchi comes to mind, maybe just tossing it with more Kunik and a grate of Parmesan so that you create your own sauce as you eat the tomato and mix it all up as you go.

I'm going to try this pasta idea this weekend and will get back to you!