Dry bread crumbs (Recipe: baked cherry tomatoes)

Since the age of seven or so, I've worn eyeglasses.

As a little kid, I hated them, and when I reached high school, I couldn't wait to get contact lenses. But in college, the combination of my night job and early-morning classes made it difficult to pry my eyes open and put the contacts in every morning.

So, reluctantly, I went back to glasses. I had one pair, which began to bore me after a week or so, and I shoved them on my nose every day and never gave them a second thought.

One day, my mother said to me, Glasses are just a fashion accessory. You have more than one jacket, why not more than one pair of glasses?

Aha!

Accessories -- like a colorful scarf or red Birkenstocks, Lego cufflinks or a bug bra -- dress up whatever they're with, and in cooking, that's exactly what dry bread crumbs do.

Of course, accessories have other roles to play; scarves provide warmth, cufflinks link cuffs. Bread crumbs add texture and crunch and bulk, and for delicate foods, they give protection from heat so the food won't overcook. But bread crumbs on top of mac and cheese, or a cassoulet, are there for one important reason: to dress up the dish.

Dry bread crumbs, made from dry or toasted bread, are easy to make, but even easier to buy; you'll find them flavored or plain, in canisters, in the Italian foods aisle of every grocery store. They have an incredibly long shelf life, but they don't last forever, so here's a tip: after you open the canister, mark the date on top. If you don't use them within six months, toss them out.

Almost any bread can be used to make bread crumbs, though better bread will make tastier crumbs. When you slice a loaf of fresh bread, save the heels and leftover slices in a bag in your freezer. When you need bread crumbs, defrost your frozen bread bits, slice into 1/2-inch slices and bake in a slow oven (200°F) until very dry. When the bread is completely cooled, process the slices in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and grind to desired consistency.

Use bread crumbs in pasta with lemony broccoli and walnuts, baked Jerusalem artichokes, stuffed mushrooms with feta cheese and Kalamata olives, maple and mustard glazed chicken, or a classic eggplant parmesan.

And if you're living gluten-free, you need not be without accessories in your cooking; try this tasty bread crumb alternative.

 

Baked cherry tomatoes

Adapted from Faith Heller Willinger's Adventures of an Italian Food Lover, this beautiful side dish takes no time to prepare, and takes advantage of the cherry tomatoes that are available in markets year-round. Our friend Greg made this when a group of friends cooked together last weekend; didn't he do a beautiful job? Serves 8.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
30-36 cherry tomatoes (depending on size)
2 Tbsp dried (but not old) oregano
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
Fine sea salt
Fresh black pepper
1 Tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Drizzle 1 tsp of the olive oil in the bottom of a 9-inch standard glass or ceramic pie dish. 

Cut the tomatoes in half cross-wise (not through the stem end). Chop the oregano and garlic together until the garlic is minced. Add the bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Place half of the cherry tomato halves, split side up, into the pie pan, arranging them so they remain upright. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the bread crumb mixture. Top with the remaining tomato halves, rounded side up, to look like whole tomatoes again. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the tomatoes.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, garnished with a bit of chopped parsley.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Chipotle meatloaf
Egg noodle, cheese and cauliflower gratin
Crab cakes
Spicy chicken balls
Sicilian style spaghetti

Comments

Love this! Can't wait to try it.

Paz

I am always looking for a new way to serve tomatoes and this recipe looks fantastic ... can't wait to try it. I love your blog Lydia!

I like to make deep-fried ravioli.

You take each cheese ravioli, dip it in egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry it in oil until golden brown. The cheese is all melted and the bread crumbs make a crispy crust. Delicious with a light tomato sauce.

My family loves toasted, buttery breadcrumbs on cauliflower cheese & on top of omelettes, too. Mmmmmmmmmm...

(Cherry tomatoes are so cheerful, I love the colour they bring to the plate!)

Oh boy, give me a loaf of crust bread and I could scoop up this pan of roasted tomatoes in no time flat. They look amazing!

This dish looks wonderful, bright and fresh even in the winter time. I can't wait to try it, thanks.

Thanks for the recipe. Hopefully I will have an abundance of cherry tomatoes this summer and I can try this.

And to Panya who posted above me at 6:36--thanks for the matzo meal tip!

If I can still those those long overdue cherry tomatoes in my fridge. I'm gonna make this!

I would love to win a cookbook! Thank you for the opportunity! I have to say I love your blog, I struggle with the Perfect Pantry myself.

My mum did a version of this with sliced tomatoes and onions layered together, topped with breadcrumbs. You'd think that after all this time I might have got it right, but nothing approaches the flavour in my memory.

Alas, I use fresh bread crumbs for my meatballs, they would be naked with out them. Panko bread crumbs for delicate stuff fish mostly and there are always the regular bread crumbs that I use as topings - Mac and cheese and now of course baked cherry tomatoes actually I do a version of this but use the Cuban Thyme I told you about.

mmmm. i do love tomatoes in all their forms.

i'll be a weirdo and say that my favorite kitchen accessory right now is my big wire shelf. it's completely wonderful to have more shelf space.

AND I just got a huge (I mean huge) industrial mixer whip that I'm going to turn into a light fixture. It's going to be great.

Would a crock pot count as a kitchen accessory? I use mine as much as I can :-)

Fried green tomatoes and fried zucchini is my favorite use of breadcrumbs. The trick is to use really good breadcrumbs - not overly coat them; fry low and slow in small batches! The perfect summer sunday morning breakfast! And only when you have just picked the veggies from the garden.
oh how I crave homegrown veggies!!!

Fried Red tomatoes also delicious!!!

Fresh breadcrumbs are a wonderful ingredient, Lydia - and mixed with herbs and parmesan it gets irresistible!

One of my favorite things is Ritz cracker crumbs on buttered, wide egg noodles with lots of black pepper. Not quite bread crumbs, but I'm sure you could do it with buttered bread crumbs. We have a Bavarian restaurant nearby that serves noodles similar to this.

I don't know, I might be wrong but so many people posted a comment on the blog... :)
So I wonder is it the BAKED CHERRY TOMATOES recipe a great one or your free giveaway of five cookbooks is a big hit :)
I think both!
Congratulation on making this blog a success!

Love your blog so I'm sure I'd love a cookbook from your stash!

I love to use bread crumbs mixed with a bit 'o butter on top of baked mac 'n cheese to give it a nice bit of crust.

you always come up with such wonderful and tasty ideas
thank you very much
mark szocik

Lydia, great shot...I want to dive into those tomatoes.

Those tomatoes look so good.

I like to toast breadcrumbs with a little bit of sugar and sprinkle it over pasta.

The roasted tomatoes look wonderful. I like to use bread crumbs as toppings for casserole type dishes. Love to use flavoured or cheese cheese breads to make the crumbs. Adds alot more texture, depth and flavour to a recipe.

i was wondering what to do with those i have a box lying around thanks for the recipe and the giveaway

I love sauteed asparagus topped with a mix of grated romano cheese, toasted bread crumbs and sauteed garlic slivers.

I use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs in making a yummy meatball recipe. Thanks for the giveaway

I have sooooo many tomatoes from the garden at the end of summer, I LOVE the way those tomatoes look in the picture. Thanks for the chance to win!

This looks outstanding. I've done something similar but not with the breadcrumbs - will have to try this version!

I can't wait to try this recipe. I'm always looking for new vegetable recipes. I use breadcrumbs in salmon patties. I don't know why, but my kids love them and we make them at least once a week. Thanks for sharing lots of great recipes.

My favorite kitchen "accessory"is a garlic "puree-er". It's a little plate with sharp raised grooves-you rub a garlic clove back and forth on the grooves and it kind of like purees the garlic. Best thing ever when you need to use garlic.

I use bread crumbs in my meatballs and in my meatloaf. My favorite kitchen tool is my rubber spatulas.

ahhh, those baked cherry tomatoes look amazing. i have honestly never cooked with bread crumbs ever in my life although i do a lot of cooking! they are one of those things that kind of scare me... i always feel like i'm going to mess something up!

I love making stuffed tomatoes. Great giveaway!!

the tomatoes look excellent! :) delicious!

I love tomatoes & basil and the addition of some garlic buttered bread crumbs.... oh yum!

I have the sassiest new red & black apron. It's my newest and "favoritest" kitchen accessory right now. For party nights. Serious cooking needs a full-frontal apron cuz I'm a sloppy cook.

Woohoo! I love roasting tomoatoes. Even the ones we get here in the winter, all green and tough. Roast them up and they aren't so bad for adding to dishes like lamb biryani or vegetable rice pilaf.

I do not use a lot of bread crumbs but BOY do I love Cook Books!!! You sure are generous and I know that this is NOT the first time you have shared some of your cook book collection!!!
I mostly use Bread Crumbs for Chicken Cutlets for the Hubby!
Leslie

Lydia,
Oooh, my mouth is drooling over your cherry tomatoes! Come on Springtime, hurry, hurry!
Enter me in your drawing please.
I like to use my leftover sourdough garlic breads to make homemade croutons and breadcrumbs which I sprinkle generously over some MacnCheese.

I've never thought of bread crumbs that way - I always thought they were there for the crunch. But this makes sense now that you mention it.

These baked cherry tomatoes look fantastic! The French do something similar - halve regulare tomatoes, place in a frying pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with crushed garlic and breadcrumbs and fry lightly then cover and finish cooking. Hubby taught me this, though I must admit yours look so much more mouthwatering and beautiful!

Interesting idea to cut small tomatoes in half and use the bread crumb mixture as a filling rather than a topping.

Silly as it may sound, I like my Foreman Grill. I like steaks grilled, but it's too cold to fire it up outside during winter, so I pop them on the Foreman for a great meal!

Bread crumbs are the best on macaroni and cheese. Especially mixed with some shredded Parmesan. I've really gotten in to Panko as well recently.

I come from an Italian family (or at least half-Italian, my Dad would have said that's the only half that counts!), so having dry bread crumbs around for cooking meatballs & such is a must. My favorite bread crumb dish is called Popat, and I've never heard of anyone else besides my family who makes it. They're sort of a fritter made from bread cumbs, parmesan cheese, and some seasonings, then fried in oil, and further cooked in tomato sauce and served with pasta. They are amazing!

Can't wait for great tomatoes to be in season here, I'd love to try roasting them!

I find panko bread crumbs are the best for the ultimate in crunchy bread toppings

If you make breadcrumbs out of fresh bread, they'll be more airy and take up more volume. Therefore, less calories per cup.

We like bread crumbs on baked mac n cheese.

I made bread crumbs most recently for Crunchy Baked Pork Chops and I am now a convert and will NEVER resort to the yucky, store bought variety again. I have just enough left over to dress your friend's baked tomatoes. Thanks Lydia!

One of my goals this year is to use less commercially processed foods. Making my own bread crumbs gives complete control over what's in them.