Ingredients

• ¹⁄₂ loaf Italian bread (about 8 ounces)
• 5 to 6 sprigs flatleaf Italian parsley
• 1 medium-size clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed
• 2 large tomatoes or 4 small ones

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Cut away and discard the crust from the loaf of bread and cut the loaf in half lengthwise. Bake for 5 minutes on each side. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees on convection heat or to 375 degrees in an oven without convection heat.
3. Cut the bread into chunks small enough to fit easily in a food processor. Place them in the food processor and pulse until you have fairly even crumbs that are not too fine. Set aside 1 cup of crumbs and reserve any extra for another use.
4. Finely chop enough parsley leaves to measure about 2 tablespoons. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Put the parsley, garlic, bread crumbs, capers, salt and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Mix well until the ingredients are evenly distributed and the bread crumbs are well coated with the olive oil. If there doesn’t seem to be enough olive oil to coat them, add a little more.
5. Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and scoop out the seeds. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Fill the cavities with a generous amount of the bread-crumb mixture, heaping it on top of each tomato half.
6. Bake until a brown crust forms, for about 20 minutes. Serve hot, or at room temperature.

Tips

• Select tomatoes that are vine-ripened for the best flavor.
• Remember to store tomatoes at room temperature. If they are not quite ripe, store them in a sunny place to hasten ripening.
• Tomatoes vary widely in the amount of juice they exude, so add a bit of water if you find the pan is dry during roasting.
• Roasted tomatoes can be made as much as 8 hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Serve at room temperature, or reheat in a 325-degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Serves 4