Parmesan Crusted Oven Baked Green and Red Tomatoes

More tomato recipes? Yes, and what is so great about these are all the places these crispy tomatoes can show up. Not only are they a side dish, they are the great secret crunch inside of a sandwich.

I started out to make fried green tomatoes and took a detour. I remembered how delicious and surprising these parmesan crusted lamb chops were and I wondered if a similar recipe could apply to tomatoes. Only, I didn’t want to fry them; I wanted them oven baked.

The idea of oven-baked started when one of the lady’s who sells tomatoes at the farmer’s market told me she never ate fried green tomatoes, because she didn’t eat anything fried. She’s a southern gal, so I was taken aback. And, then I realized a lot of people are changing the way they eat, and are looking for new ways to prepare good traditional fare. Of course, I took them into the Italian flavor palate, but I think you could find your own way of adapting this recipe.

These are easy and rather elegant. It’s important to use the best parmegiano reggiano cheese and grate it fresh for it’s the cheese that drives the flavor here.

Recipe for Oven Crusted Green and Red Tomtoes

Ingredients

• 6 slices large tomatoes, sliced across thickly
• 1/3 cup loosely packed grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

Instructions

1. Salt tomatoes for five minutes.
   Carefully brush off the salt.
2. Cover each tomato slice on both sides with grated cheese.
3. Dip into egg. Coat with breadcrumbs.
4. Bake at 350 on baking stone or baking pan covered with parchment paper.
   Bake for 10-15 minutes  each side until browned.

Note: This sandwich was made with grilled eggplant, provolone cheese and a pepper sauce. The delicious pepper sauce is a blend of Mezzetta roasted red peppers and jalapeno peppers. The peppers were made into a sauce with a magic bullet. Mezzetta provided the ingredients.