Even though it’s not tomato season in my area yet I can always find those sweet little grape tomatoes along with Campari tomatoes on the vine, and just recently I’ve been buying the mini heirlooms packaged as Gourmet Medley, all of them have such great flavor in every bite.
Recently I went a little overboard in the tomato department and had to find ways to use all that I had, besides I can’t bare to waste them! Great in salads but also great to cook with, which I often do. Here are a couple of ways to enjoy them along with another idea from a former post I did on my Tomato Bread.
Zucchini Boats
Just cut a zucchini in half lengthwise and trim a little off the bottom so it sit still in a baking dish*** Scoop out the center where the seeds are with a spoon*** Brush the surface with a mixture of crushed garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper*** Arrange halved grape tomatoes into the grooves, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes*** Remove and place diced fontina or mozzarella in between the tomatoes, place them back in, but now under the broiler til golden and bubbling***Remove and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of grated parmesan. You will love this as a side dish!
Caprese Tart
Caprese Tart
This comes together so quickly, I even used a store bought pie dough. I love the flavor of the tiny heirlooms which makes this tart taste spectacular!
Place your pie dough on a removable bottomed tart pan, I used a 9 inch one here*** Prebake your pie crust in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes*** Remove from oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees*** Drizzle olive oil on top of the crust along with fresh snipped basil and a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese*** Layer the bottom of your crust with slices of fresh mozzarella, and since I had some fontina left from my zucchini boats, I mixed that in as well*** Arrange your halved tomatoes all around the tart right on top of the cheese*** Add more snipped basil and another drizzle of olive oil*** Bake for about 25 minutes*** Let it cool down before you cut into it. This, with a nice tossed salad is perfect for dinner!
Enjoy and Buon Appetito!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
Darn you – why do you have to live in Chicago? I want to live close enough to stop by for some of everything.
Omg love the zucchini boats!
Me too!!!!
I love both of these dishes….do I have to choose.
The small tomatoes have much better flavor than the large ones when they are out of season… your recipes look delicious Marie.
My husband loves little tomatoes. Love these two recipes! Not only are they gorgeous, but they have all of my favorite flavors! The zucchini boats are so unique!
Wow! I don’t ususally salivate this early in the morning but after reading this post I did. Those look absolutely scrumptious!!
Hi Marie!
Lovely recipe.Those small heirloom tomatoes are good but expensive too. I love fontina cheese too.
Bellissime foto!
Another beautiful post, Marie! Love those zucchini boats.
Those zucchini boats look incredible! I can’t wait to try this!
xxMK
The little grape tomatoes are my favorites! These are some awesome ideas to use them up.
I eat tomato in some form every day, even at breakfast with eggs. I love both dishes you prepared.
Oh my gosh, these both look fabulous.
you know i’m am the same way with strawberries….i always but way too much. i hate to waste them too.
that caprese tart is just stunning. i bet it tastes good cold too. i love a good tomato pie. (not a pizza, but pie. lol)
I can’t wait to make the zucchini boats. Both dishes are so beautiful.
These both look fantastic and yummy!!
Both recipes are great ways to get your veggies in as well as enjoy those extra tomatoes. I agree that in the off-season campari tomatoes are the way to go. Roast them and the off-season flavor is no longer anything to worry about.
Both dishes look great. Making the zucchini would be dangerous for me: I’d have a really hard time stopping. The sight of tomatoes always cheers me up: summer is almost here!
That Caprese torte is beautiful.
I can’t live without my little cherry tomatoes in the net bag all year long.
They are always so sweet and dependable.
I agree! the little heirloom ones are the best! Funny I was thinking of playing with zucchini boats this week; love that tart you made, much lighter than a pizza but still delish.
Your food always looks so good! And I love tomatoes of all shapes and sizes but really love those Gourmet Medley. And they are so affordable.
I am coming over;).
Just found your blog, am so jazzed! I am a food blogger too, and living in Italy for a year;) so am equally excited about cooking Italian food… and tomatoes:). I cannot wait to try those zucchini boats!
What can be left to be said other than yum!
I would encourage you if you have a lot and are in a real bind to use them, make a quick sauce out of them as their flavor is so intense, you’ll find that it becomes concentrated and hard to resist.
Got to have that tart!!! Running right to market for tomatoes! (Luv ur food!)
I bought a package of Sunset Romana tomatoes thsi weekend at Costco and they were very good..almost as good as home grown!
Your zucchini boats are such a great idea and the tiny heirloom tomato caprese? Mwah! Perfect!
Parallel thoughts: bought the tomato medly two weeks ago and did a Caprese tart with it – just no Fontina. I am so proud of myself – something worthy of Proud Italian Cook. Of course, I hadn’t thought up those delicious zucchini boats and will do that with the grape tomatoes. I love coming here!
Wonderful idea! It looks so good….
I like that your recipes look very tasty. I just started my blog. It is in both English and Spanish. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Marcela
http://foodtravelandwine.blogspot.com/
Ooooh…Another caprese variation. I’m all for that!
Wow, now that’s the way to dress up zucchini! The little tomatoes are a perfect topper and touch of color. How would we ever get by without those zucchini!
I always get hungry when I stop by for a visit, Marie. Those zucchini boats look delicious as does that tomato tart. Let’s hope for a good crop of local tomatoes this year!
Way healthier than Tomato bread. Great idea.
Thumbs up for the both of the dishes! They are so amazing! Very nice ideas!
Tomatoes on a zucchini boat, that is such a great idea!
LL
I know this is a fairly old thread but I wanted to let you know what we do when it comes to stuffed zucchini. We boil them whole for 10 mins, plunge in cold water, split,and scoop the “guts” out with a grapefruit spoon. This recipe is FABULOUS!!!!
Just made this, so yummy!
I made the zucchini boats last night. They are so yummy and so easy to make! Thank you so much for posting!!
My go to is stuffed zucchini (stuffed with a ground beef mixture), but this is such a healthier option! Thanks!
Oh my goodness Marie.. YUMM!!! I pinned this on my Pinterest under YUMMMMMMYYY!
Hope your well, Happy New Year!
Marie – I came across your zucchini boat recipe on pinterest a few days ago, and made them today for part of my lunch. Tasty and healthy!! Thanks for sharing!
Love those zucchini boats, so cute! They look really delicious.
Seriously? How do we not know you? Saw this photo on Pinterest. I gotta try these tonight. Terrific photo and write up can’t believe it’s from 2010.
Just made the zucchini boats for a pot luck and it was a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe. Delicious
This looks fabulous, and might I add, I love the name of your blog!
Found this in Pinterest and made it tonight. Delicious! I added chopped garlic, as well. Thanks for sharing!
Zucchini Boats.. are very clever. I will be trying these as they get those veggies on the plate and LOOK like individual pizza’s to boot.. Just very smart cooking.
Made the zuchinni boats tonight, to go with ravioli. My son and husband were reluctant because they think they don’t like tomatoes…but they BOTH loved it. I think I’ll use a light sprinkle of garlic powder rather than fresh garlic next time for a milder garlic flavor (to let the tomatoes shine more.) Used panko for the crumbs and they were perfect.
What a clever idea! I will be telling my patients about this one.
So glad I saw this on Pinterest! Can’t wait to give it a try!
Just made the zucchini boats and they are delicious. The smell in the oven was amazing. Thank you for posting this.
These look amazing! And not too bad for your health either! I love Italian food, just got back from Italy not too long ago and am always looking for new Italian dishes to try.
I just made those Tomato Boats with fresh zucchini and tomatoes from the farmers market.. I used Muenster cheese b/c that’s what I had on hand.. Delicious!! Great find. Thank you and thanks to pinterest!
Going to try the zucchini boat with vegan products for my wonderful vegan daughter-in-law!
Your zucchini looks really good . hmm yummy .
The zucchini boats looked so good I prepped them for dinner for tomorrow night. I used a melon-baller to scoop the middles out: perfect for creating little notches for the cherry tomatoes! I opted for fresh mozzarella slices & a bit of grated Gruyere cheese. My bread crumbs are made from a week old , hardened mini loaf of artisan french bread (ground up in a food processor). I put the prepared boats in a covered casserole dish in the fridge. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s dinner!!
So i had to get out of my chair while baby naps and prepare the zucchini boats for dinner, they are sitting in the fridge all ready wo the cheese though and i used cilantro leaves on top as well… Cant wait to put in the oven for dinner. Great idea! thanks
Jael
Zucchini boats are delish! Be careful not to over bake them to keep their nice firm shape. Yum! My daughter even eats the leftovers cold!
Found your blog and it’s amazing! Love all receipes! Followed!
Found your zucchini boat recipe on Pinterest. I just made it for a light dinner. YUMMMMMMY!!!! It’s VERY tasty and possibly the EASIEST recipe I’ve come across. Fool proof too! Thank you for this great recipe.
So glad to see tasty, doable, colorful and real food. Oh, did I say healthy.
My family loved the Zucchini Boats, but we were BLOWN AWAY by the amazing flavors of the Caprese Tart! I knew it would be good because it’s full of things I love. But I was not prepared for just HOW delicious it would be. Perfection! I’m looking forward to trying many more of your recipes.
Thank you for posting! I made these for my family tonight and we all fought over the last one, including my 9 year old. Delicious!
I know some people have Pinned this, but I don’t see a Pin Button so I won’t. I used to make zucchini boats but not so fancy.
This is our new favorite zucchini recipe!
Thanks for the recipe! I made the zucchini boats and wrote about it here: http://adventurestouncover.wordpress.com/. I ate them for the main dish and it worked out well.
The zucchini boats are an excellent and healthier substitute for pizza! Perfect for when you’re dieting but have cravings…so so good!
I love zucchini and it is so healthy. This recipe looks yummy. And if you want to cut some calories use low calorie cheese.
A new twist to zucchini boats! I’m sure my friends will love these two recipes. We are planning to have a house warming for a friend who bought her house three months ago but was never able to have her house warming party. So, the other members of our tiny gang came up with a surprise. I now have a recipe to brag with. Thanks a lot for posting!