Roasted Tomatoes with Stuffed Italian Meatball, Melted Provolone Curt's Guest Post

My son called me and said Mom I got an idea for a stuffed tomato recipe and this was  a huge success and over the top delicious!  We were both so excited with the results I couldn't wait to share it with the world.  He really aced this one, it was a hit with the whole family.

First hollow out all the tomatoes you will use for your size family and set aside the insides because he will be making a great tomato sauce with them!

Slice some green, red, yellow or orange sweet peppers, sliced mushrooms and set them aside

Next you will add the pulp put through a food processor in the pan of sauteed sausage and vegetables. Curt is becoming quite the unique cook, he loves inventing new ideas and this one was over the top GREAT! So proud of him!

Hot loose sausage, peppers, mushrooms sauteed with fresh garlic

Stuffed with Italian meatball mixture on an oil sprayed foil line cookie sheet

Fresh Pulp and Plum tomatoes for the sausage, peppers and mushroom sauce

Roasted in the oven @400 degree hot oven and the aroma in the house was amazing!

4 Extra large tomatoes (buy the largest ones you can find)

provolone cheese slices for each tomato

1 1/2 pounds of ground sirloin

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 slices of Italian bread put under water and squeezed out

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, dried parsley, red pepper flakes

2 eggs

1/2 cup Romano cheese grated

1 pound penne pasta

3 pounds plum tomatoes

1 pound ground hot Italian sausage

1 green bell pepper sliced in long strips

1 red bell pepper sliced in long strips

1 orange bell pepper sliced in long strips

1 pound of sliced mushrooms

fresh parsley for garnish


Prepare a cookie sheet for tomatoes, lined with tin foil and sprayed with cooking oil. Preheat oven at 400 degrees.


Large Tomatoes:

On the large tomatoes, cut around the inner wall removing and throwing away the cores then scooping the inside out with a spoon ( like you would a pumpkin) leaving the wall and just hollowed out, setting the pulp aside for stuffing.


Meatball Stuffing Mixture:

Mix the ground sirloin with all the herbs, spices, squeezed out bread, bread crumbs, eggs, 1/4 cup Romano cheese. Mix together well.


Stuff the Large Tomatoes:

Stuff the large tomatoes with meatball mixture. Bake on prepared foil lined cookie sheet on 400 degrees for around 35 minutes or until meat is cooked. Right at the end, place a slice of provolone cheese on top of each tomatoes and bake till cheese is melted around 5 more minutes.


Fresh Tomato Sausage, Peppers and Mushroom Sauce:

In a large fry pan saute sausage till pink is gone around 5 minutes. Drain fat. Add the peppers, mushrooms and minced garlic, continue to saute 8 minutes. Cut the stems out and the cores off the tops of the plum tomatoes. Add to the plum tomatoes(skins and all) along with the large tomato (left over pulp from scooping out) into a food processor and pulse till all is pureed. Pour all the fresh tomatoes into the fry pan with sausage and vegetables and cook the sauce on medium heat until most of the water is evaporated out. Add 1/4 cup of cheese to the pan.


Boil penne pasta in salted water to your desired doneness. We like al dente. Drain, pour the sauce over the pasta garnish with parsley and more cheese.


Serve the tomato as an appetizer or part of the meal.