Just Like Mom’s Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 6 medium tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for dish
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- ½ cup water
- ½ loaf bread
- 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- ¼ teaspoon celery seed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup grated provolone cheese
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
- 1 jalapeño (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. Use a spoon to gently hollow out inside of tomatoes, being careful not to puncture outer shell. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery and sauté until beginning to brown. Add water and scrape bits from bottom of pan. In a large bowl, tear bread into bite-size pieces. Add seasoned breadcrumbs, onion mixture, and celery seed to bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place tomato halves in a buttered casserole dish and fill each with breadcrumb mixture. Top each with cheese and drizzle with oil. (Optional: My mom would add a pinch of paprika and I instead add a sprinkle of chopped jalapeño. Also great without.) Bake until tops are browned, about 20 minutes.
