Ingredients
- two tomatoes
- pesto sauce (storebought)
- monterey jack cheese (shredded)
- three green onions
- small amount of bacon fat to grease pan
Cooking Instructions
Slice the tomatoes in half. Remove the seeds from the tomato by gently squeezing the tomato, or by using a knife or spoon to scoop out the seeds. Place the tomatoes flat-side down on a paper towel to allow the tomatoes to drain. Pre-heat your grill (I used a gas grill) to a medium/medium-high heat. Slice the white part of your green onion and a little of the tops of each one.
Mix the pesto, grated cheese, and sliced green onion together in a bowl shallow and small enough that you don't have a lot of waste on the sides, but open and large enough that you can mix the ingredients together. (I used the teaspoon sized measuring spoon that I used to scoop out the pesto sauce to do the mixing to reduce cleanup afterwards).
After the tomatoes have drained for a few minutes, grease a small square baking tin (I used bacon fat, but you could use olive oil or coconut oil) place the tomatoes cut-side up and salt and pepper the tomatoes.
Next, place the pesto-mixture on top of the tomatoes, using about an equal amount on each tomato half. Then place the pan on the grill and cook the tomatoes with the top down for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are warmed and the outer skin is starting to peel back and wrinkle.
Comments
This is a fairly simple and quick low carbohydrate side dish that is sure to please. The bright red of the tomato set against the green of the pesto is visually appealing. The flavor of roasted tomato alone is wonderful, and when paired with the pesto-cheese mix is even better. I find pesto can sometimes dominate a dish, but the monterey jack cheese cuts the pesto flavor a little and allows the tomato to come through.
This dish could very easily be cooked in the oven as opposed to on the grill. I tried it in the oven at 350 degrees and cooked the tomatoes for 12 minutes. This was not long enough, not hot enough, or both. Although when I first posted, I suggested using a 325 degree oven, I now think that 375 or 400 is probably a more appropriate temperature unless you extended the cook time to closer to twenty minutes.
I used Alessi pesto. It contains: olive oil, basil, pecorino romano cheese, pine nuts, salt, garlic, white balsalmic vinegar, and some preservatives. It's a little pricey, but I like it for its flavor and the fact that it does not contain any soy oil or corn oil and has minimal preservatives. If you have more time, you may wish to make your own pesto. I've never made it myself, but understand that it's not too difficult.
My mom makes a similar dish in the oven which is also quite wonderful, but her dish calls for bread crumbs. In mom's roasted tomatoes, you take Roma tomatoes (as opposed to full-sized tomatoes in this recipe) slice them in half (don't remove the seeds), line them up on a baking sheet and top each tomato with bread crumbs, salt, basil (I think), and a pat of butter. Cook them in the oven (350 degrees) until the butter is melted, the tomatoes are warm and soft, and the breadcrumbs have browned slightly. You may need to use the broiler to finish the tomatoes if they don't brown on their own. You could try using coconut flour or flakes (see my post on "fried" chicken using coconut flakes here) but the coconut flavor might ruin the dish.
I apologize for not including a picture, but I had company and was more concerned with getting the food on the table and eating it than I was with photographing it. My wife liked the dish and even said, "we should make it again," so I hope to add a picture in time.
I found this recipe in The Big Book of Easy Suppers by Maryana Vollstedt. The subtitle of the cookbook is "270 Delicious Recipes for Casual Everyday Cooking." I have found it to be an excellent cookbook that delivers what it promises: very tasty dishes that don't take a lot of preparation, don't have a long list of ingredients, and are pretty easy to make. It's not a primal or lowcarb cookbook, but one I'm glad I own.
Links to Simple, Low Carbohydrate Dinner Recipes
Links to Simple, Low Carbohydrate Breakfast Recipes
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