Grilled Scallops and Tomatoes Provencale

I wanted to cook something light last weekend, especially with all of the heavy holiday food that we consumed. Sticking primarily to fish and veggies, I decided to try the following scallop recipe out of my latest Bon Appetit issue. Although I omitted using nectarines, I pretty much stayed true to the recipe.

For a side dish, I worked my magic with an old recipe for Tomatoes Provencale that I inherited from my ICE cooking class. See the easy directions below. The best part of this dish is its healthfulness and fragrant ingredients. It's inexpensive to make and makes for good leftovers. Enjoy!

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes Provencale (8 Servings)

Ingredients:

4 firm, ripe medium tomatoes

Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of finely minced shallots (you can use onions if you can't get shallots)

3-5 tablespoons of minced fresh basil

1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dried (I prefer dried)

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup of olive oil plus additional

1/2 cup of dry white bread crumbs (you can also use Italian bread crumbs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil the baking dish.

Cut the tomatoes in half, crosswide. Using your index finger, poke the seeds from the tomato cavities. Sprinkle the halves lightly with salt and place the tomatoes upside down on a rack. Allow to drain for about 20 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the garlic, shallots (or onions), basil, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 cup of the oil and the bread crumbs.

Season the insides of the tomato halves with pepper and fill each with 1-2 spoonfuls of the stuffing. Sprinkle with a few drops of oil. Arrange the tomatoes in the baking dish. At this point, the tomatoes can be held for several hours.

Place the baking dish in the upper third of the oven and bake until the tomatoes are tender but still hold their shape (10-15 minutes). The filling should be lightly browned. Cool slightly and serve.

Feast on this guilt-free dinner--Dan and I did and we'll make it again soon. The key is to use fresh sea scallops and fresh veggies. I got the scallops at the Best of the Sea fish market on 30th Avenue and the fruit from the 24-hour United Brothers Fruit also on 30th Avenue.