Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Caprese Mozzarella, very tasty, delicious, and quick to make, perfect for appetizers, starters, or as a delicious side dish.
The idea comes from the classic Caprese, but I wanted to make it warm and melty, so the idea of basil pesto, the combination of garden cherry tomatoes, and the essential mozzarella that melts wonderfully with a thin, crispy gratin that makes everything even more delicious.
Few and simple ingredients, and if you want to save some time instead of making the basil sauce on the spot, you can use ready-made pesto! Who doesn’t have it?
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 18 cherry tomatoes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 18 cherry mozzarella balls (or cubed mozzarella)
- 9 large cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon parmesan
- 20 leaves basil
- as needed olive oil
- as needed salt
- as needed pepper
- one third of a clove garlic
Steps
To make the baked cherry tomatoes with caprese mozzarella, the first thing you need to do is wash the cherry tomatoes under running water, cut them exactly in half, remove the inside, seeds, and juices by first scoring with a knife and then scooping with a teaspoon.
Leave them upside down on a plate.
In the meantime, prepare a simple basil sauce, or if you prefer, you can use a little ready-made pesto.
In a pitcher, place the basil leaves, a generous drizzle of olive oil, a third of a garlic clove (which you can omit if you don’t like it), a pinch of salt, and a sprinkle of pepper. Blend everything and add more oil if needed. Pour a small amount inside each cherry tomato.
Add a mozzarella ball or a cube of mozzarella on top of each cherry tomato.
In a container, mix 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs with one of parmesan and generously sprinkle all the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake at 464°F in a ventilated mode for about 15 minutes, the baking is done when a delicious crust forms.
They will be fragrant, delicious, and super melty! For an appetizer, I recommend some crackers to accompany them.
Until next time from Sapore di Arianna!
Variations
You can replace mozzarella with any other semi-hard cheese; scamorza balls or cubed scamorza, provolone, asiago, whatever you prefer would be perfect!
Storage
They keep for 24 hours in the refrigerator; it is recommended to consume them hot if you want the melty effect.