Delicious is Always Healthy..

copyright, 2010 Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc. Maria Liberati
My favorite recipes combine ‘healthy with delicious’ and I am always in search of ingredients to help me in this ‘mission’ artisan ingredients are the healthiest version of foods, so when I found a lite version of a freshly made Gouda cheese I began working on something special in The Basic Art of Italian Cooking test kitchens here and this is what we came up with. This works well as an appetizer or as a light dinner to be eaten on the terrazzo ‘al fresco’… on a warm summer night with a loaf of crusty whole grain bread and a glass of chilled white wine. (Falenghina, or Est!Est!Est!)
Baked Tomatoes with Gouda

3 large tomatoes (washed)
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves chopped finely
4 ounces gouda cheese
3 leeks finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half. Grease a baking pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil, spread in pan  with clean fingers. Place tomato halves in greased pan. On each tomato half place 1 tsp of olive oil. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in  saute  pan. Saute finely chopped garlic with finely chopped leeks over low heat, just until golden. Remove from heat, place garlic mixture on top of tomato halves divided evenly. Bake tomatoes for 10 minutes. Grate Gouda cheese and place on top of tomato halves place under broiler until cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve hot or cool.
May 25th, 11 AM- Book Signing at Book Expo America, Javits Convention Center, NY, NY. First 100 visitors get a free galley copy of the second edition of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking:Holiday & Special Occasions
For info on this event email: info@marialiberati.com
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Maria