As we were contemplating what to do with all of the beautiful tomatoes, my son Joel came up with the idea of a hollowing out the tomatoes and stuffing them with all the fixings of a Caprese salad neatly tucked back into the tomatoes. And, so that is exactly what we did and they are so much fun to eat, they look festive on the plate and they are wildly delicious! We used the pearl mozzarella balls and an extra sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese, but you could also try burrata or feta if you prefer those cheeses!Try using a grapefruit spoon to hollow out the tomato, because it can get into to the round sides of the tomato much better than a serrated knife. Be sure to save the scooped tomato pulp to toss with the other ingredients before stuffing the tomato for serving.
Servings 6
Ingredients
6vine-ripened garden-fresh tomatoes2.5 to 3 inches in diameter
6ouncesfresh mozzarella pearlssmall rounds of fresh mozzarella
4basil leavessnipped into small julienne or chiffonade
2tablespoonsor about 1 ounce crumbled blue cheese
2tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil*
1tablespoonred wine vinegar**or your favorite vinaigrette dressing
1/2teaspoonlemon pepper
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonground black pepper
Garnish: extra basil leaves
Instructions
Hollow out tomatoes using a grapefruit spoon or serrated knife. Place tomato “shells” on a plate and the tomato pulp in a mixing bowl. You may need to slice off a little bit from the bottom of the tomato to allow it to sit flat on the plate.
To the tomato pulp, add the mozzarella pearls, crumbled blue cheese, and basil, and gently toss. Sprinkle lemon pepper, salt, and pepper over the mixture and drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the top. Gently toss again.
Fill the tomato cavities with the Caprese mixture and pack it down with the bottom of a spoon. Garnish with small basil leaves and refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be made a couple of hours ahead of time.