Looking for an easy alternative to the same old boring side salad?
How about a plump juicy tomato stuffed with some late summer sweet corn and creamy lemon-basil chevre from Uno Alla Volta (UAV)?
Since my buddy, Zack Gadberry, cheese master extraordinaire, makes some of the most delicious fresh cheeses around, I’m constantly looking for new ways to incorporate his cheeses in my recipes.
Zack owns UAV and has made a name for himself with his fabulous fresh mozzarella and burrata featured lately at a lot of terrific Charlotte restaurants, like Aria Tuscan Grill, 300 East, and Heirloom.
But Zack has recently branched out into chèvre – the rich and tangy fresh goat’s milk cheese that has quickly become my latest obsession.
The chèvre I zeroed in on for my tomato stuffing adventure was UAV’s lemon-basil chèvre. By adding a little of Zack’s fresh ricotta, pressed garlic, minced scallions, chopped parsley, and torn basil leaves to my sweet corn kernals and tomato pulp, I quickly made a delicious side salad for Sunday night dinner.
You can serve your stuffed tomatoes in little ramekins to keep them upright . . .
. . . or place them on a small bed of fresh greens. (I used a mixture of spring mix and Bibb lettuce from Spring Lake Family Farms – my favorite place to get hydroponically grown greens year-round!)
Dead simple, but absolutely delicious. My family loved it – and maybe yours will, too!
- 2 ears fresh sweet corn
- 3 large ripe (but still firm) tomatoes
- 1 container UAV lemon-basil chevre
- 2 tablespoons UAV ricotta
- 5-6 scallions, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Bibb or spring mix lettuce (mine was from Spring Lake Family Farms)
- 3 cherry or grape tomatoes
- Microwave corn (still in the husk) for about 3 minutes. (I just use the fresh vegetable setting.) Take it out and let it cool while you prep the tomatoes.
- Slice the top off each tomato. To remove the seeds, stick a small spoon or melon baller (or be low tech and use your finger) between each segment to scoop out the seeds and jelly-like part of the tomato. (Why? If you leave this in it will dilute your stuffing mixture and make it too watery.)
- After removing the seeds, carefully cut away the remaining tomato flesh and leave a ¼" outside shell. Chop the tomato flesh and put in a medium bowl.
- By now your microwaved sweet corn will be cool. Remove the husks and all the silk, and give the ears a quick rinse. Carefully cut the kernels off, and put them in the bowl with the tomato flesh.
- Mix in all of the other ingredients, except the lettuce and cherry or grape tomatoes. Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning with a little more sea salt and pepper, to your taste.
- Sprinkle a little sea salt on the inside of the tomato shell.
- Stuff the tomatoes with your delicious mixture, top with a cherry or grape tomato, and serve on a small bed of very fresh lettuce.
- Ideally, chill or 15-30 minutes before serving.
All Rights Reserved
You must be logged in to post a comment.