Mommie's Roasted Tomatoes and Parseley Green Beans

The farmer's market is full of wonderful things, which makes me nostalgic for California and my mother's cooking. My mother loves fresh ingredients, and makes simple dishes that really bring out their flavors. I recently made two of her recipes that brought me right back to her kitchen table.

My mother never measures anything, so true to her style I won't tell you any of the measurements either!

Tomatoes

For this dish you need round, medium sized tomatoes--larger than cherry tomatoes, but smaller than ones you normally get at the grocery store.

Tomatoes
Garlic
Parsely
Plain Breadcrumbs (we use Progresso)
Olive oil
Salt

Cut out the tops where the stems of the tomatoes are so that you remove a cone-shaped piece of tomato. Sprinkle some salt in them and let them sit for a while. Chop the parseley and garlic very finely, and put in a bowl with some olive oil. (You have to put olive oil on chopped parseley right away, otherwise it turns brown.) Mix some breadcrumbs in. If it's too dry, add a little more olive oil, but you want it to be a pretty thick paste. Turn the tomatoes over and let them drain some liquid. Preheat your oven. I don't remember what temperature Mom usually does it at (I think around 350). I did it a little hotter, between 400 and 450 because everything else for dinner was going to be ready soon, and I liked how they browned on top. Scoop the paste into the opening made by cutting out the tops. Don't force it. You don't need that much in each one--maybe between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, depending on the size of tomatoes you're using. Place them side by side in a glass baking dish. It is ideal if you can fit them all into a dish so that they touch each other. That way when they bake they won't fall over. Once the tomatoes are stuffed and in the dish, drizzle a fair amount of olive oil over them, and put them in the oven. Let them go for about half an hour, depending on the temperature. The liquid will bubble, but that's just fine!

Let cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before transferring to a serving plate.


Parseley Green Beans

green beans
parseley
garlic
salt
pepper
olive oil
red wine vinegar

Break off the stems of the green beans and put the green beans into a bowl. Put a large pot of water on to boil. While you're waiting for the water to boil, chop the parseley and garlic very finely, and put in a bowl with some olive oil. Once the water starts boiling, drop green beans in for no more than five minutes. Drain and run some cold water over them to stop them from cooking, but not enough to cool them all the way down. Put the beans into a bowl and add the parseley/garlic mixture. Add some salt, more olive oil, and some red wine vinegar. Mix thoroughly and serve.