ROASTED PIZZA TOMATOES

These are delicious canapés and you can make a lot rather quickly. The recipe was adapted from Chef Linda Weiss' Pepperoni Pizza Tomatoes. Not being overly fond of pepperoni, I replaced it with a Hungarian salami look alike, not as good as the original, but still better than a pepperoni. I had really nice mozzarella, but you can use white cheddar or a mixture of Italian cheeses. Made in larger tomatoes, one of these with a green salad will make a meal. I used smallish wine ripened tomatoes. In winter I would use Roma tomatoes cut lengthwise with a little slice off the bottom to make them stand up straight. The scooped out portion is worth saving for soups or stews; just freeze, date and label.

ROASTED PIZZA TOMATOES

6 small wine ripened tomatoes

salt to taste

1/2 fresh garlic, diced

6 slices of dry salami

1 cup mozzarella cheese, crumpled

1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumpled

• Preheat the oven to 400F.

• Spray an ovenproof baking dish with cooking spray.

• Cut the tomato tops off and scoop out the seeds and the pulp. Reserve these for some other use.

• Lightly salt the inside of the tomatoes and add a couple of pieces from the diced garlic.

• Place 1 slice of dry salami inside the hollowed out tomato. If the tomato is larger, you may need more than one slice of salami.

• Place a bit of crumpled up herb inside. I used home dried oregano leaves.

• Divide the crumpled up cheese on the top. Pile it up, the cheese will settle down inside as it bakes.

• Bake the tomatoes for 20 minutes or until the cheese tops are bubbly. • Serve immediately.

• Can be eaten as a canapé or smeared on toasted baguette slices.