Stuff tomatoes with garlicky bread crumbs and bacon for a flavor jackpot

It’s hard for me to believe, but today is my final recipe while filling in for Daniela Galarza at The Washington Post. I have learned so much over the past five months while keeping her seat warm, including the stamina it takes to write and the value of a band of smart, insightful editors who make it all sound and look so much better than I could alone.

Most of all, I have been buoyed by your engagement, whether it’s responding to the questions I’ve posed, cooking the recipes we’ve featured and sharing the results on social media, or just sending a kind note along the way.

This morning, I went back through my inbox to read the first piece I wrote, from March 11. In addition to introducing myself and describing how I approach cooking (long story short: simple, comforting food with as few dishes to wash as possible), I wrote a little proclamation about cooking dinner regularly:

“Making dinner might not seem like a big deal, but I think it is. It is a big deal to feed yourself and the people who rely on you. I think you’re doing something important. And I’m here to help.”

I hope my work with these recipes has helped you do this very important, very relentless work of feeding yourself.

And for my final recipe (the pressure!), I am excited to share a special one from my new cookbook, “What Goes With What,” which comes out in October — so consider this a special sneak peek.

The recipe, Tomatoes Casino, features stuffed tomatoes that have all the familiar flavors of classic clams casino: bacon, garlic, bread crumbs and parsley. Serve the tomatoes with a simple green salad, as well as rice, pasta, polenta or bread, to make a complete meal, or make it a side dish with any simple main course, such as air fryer salmon or roast chicken.

Although the recipe stands on its own in the book, Tomatoes Casino appears in a chart of recipes for stuffed vegetables. What do I mean by that? The whole book is a collection of charts that each show you the basic infrastructure of a recipe with examples for how to riff on it. Then there are the recipes for each example. In addition to stuffed vegetables (so fun!), there are also tons of simple, useful things such as salad dressings, roasted vegetables, one-bowl baked goods and more. It’s also a very personal book: It includes a number of essays; I took all the photos myself; and my sweet parents designed the whole thing.

It has been so much fun hanging out with all of you, and although I will no longer be writing this column, I am excited to get back to reading it along with you. Take good care, everyone, and I hope your days continue to be filled with simple, good food that makes you feel loved.

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Tomatoes Casino

These stuffed tomatoes feature all the flavors and the texture of classic clams casino: bacon, garlic, bread crumbs and parsley. To prevent them from disintegrating in the oven, use just-ripe, but not overripe, tomatoes. Serve with a simple green salad, as well as rice, pasta, polenta or bread, to make a complete meal; or as a side dish with any simple main course, such as poached salmon or roast chicken.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 3 days; gently reheat in a 300-degree oven until warmed through.

6 vine-ripened tomatoes (about 1¾ pounds total)

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for the baking dish

4 ounces bacon (4 to 7 strips, depending on thickness), diced

4 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated

1 cup panko

½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Fine salt

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Using a serrated knife, cut a thin slice off the top and bottom of each tomato. Using a spoon, scoop out the centers of each one. (Discard the stem, and reserve the pulp and juice.) When scooping, don’t hollow out the entire thing. Keep each tomato intact: You’re basically looking to create tomato cups. Finely chop the tomato pulp and any usable parts from the tops and bottoms, and reserve for the stuffing.

In a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium heat, combine the olive oil and bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned and crisp around the edges, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and stir in the reserved chopped tomato trimmings, panko and parsley. Season the mixture to taste with salt.

Lightly grease the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish or quarter sheet pan with oil. Arrange the tomatoes in the dish, hollowed side up, evenly spacing them apart. Season the interior of each tomato with a large pinch of salt, then evenly divide the panko mixture among the tomatoes. (If you have more mixture than can fit in the tomatoes, save it to sprinkle on pasta or your morning eggs.) Roast for about 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes become lightly brown and soften but still retain their shape. Serve hot or warm.

Substitutions:

To make these gluten-free, use gluten-free bread crumbs.

To make these vegetarian/vegan, leave out the bacon and add a teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika to the panko mixture for smokiness.

Instead of parsley, you can use basil or chives.

To make these spicy, add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the panko mixture.

Serves 3 to 6 (makes 6 stuffed tomatoes)

Nutritional facts per serving (1 stuffed tomato), based on 6 | Calories: 208; Fat: 13 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 18 g; Sodium: 148 mg; Cholesterol: 10 mg; Protein: 5 g; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 4 g

— Adapted from “What Goes With What” by Julia Turshen (Flatiron Books, 2024).