Recipe: Cherry Tomatoes Filled with Goat Cheese

CHERRY TOMATOES FILLED WITH GOAT CHEESE

20 large cherry tomatoes*
8 ounces fresh goat cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 green onion, white and green parts, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 tablespoon basil chiffonade**
1/2 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1/2 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns
Fine sea salt, to taste

Cut off top of each tomato with a sharp knife (or a tomato knife if you have one), taking care to preserve stems. Set tops aside. Using a small melon baller scoop out and discard tomato pulp.

In a bowl, whisk goat cheese and olive oil until mixture is smooth. Stir in green onion, basil, tarragon, black pepper and salt. Place cheese mixture in a plastic pastry bag or a resealable plastic bag, and cut a 1/4-inch opening in a corner.

Season inside of each tomato with salt. Pipe enough of cheese mixture into each tomato so that filling is just coming up past the top. Replace tomato top and arrange on a platter.

*Baby tomatoes on the stem are recommended for this little dish.

**To make a basil chiffonade, place leaves on top of one another to make a little pile. Roll the pile tightly, and then cut across it in very thin slices.

TO MAKE AHEAD:
You can prepare cheese a few hours before your party and keep it refrigerated, but it is best to place it in bag and pipe it shortly before serving.

Makes 20.
Source: Bite Size by Francois Payard