Tomatoes with Herbs

Ingredients (servers 4 as a starter)

4 medium tomatoes, ripe but firm
Salt and ground black pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 salted anchovy fillets, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
30g panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped oregano
3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint
1½ tbsp chopped capers

Trim 1cm off the top of each tomato and discard. Use a teaspoon to remove the seeds and most of the flesh, leaving a clean shell. Lightly salt the insides and put in a colander, facing down, to get rid of some moisture.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a medium pan, sauté the onion, garlic and anchovy in a tablespoon of oil. Cook on a low heat for two to three minutes, just to soften the onion. Remove from the heat, stir in the breadcrumbs, herbs, capers and pepper, taste and add salt if needed.

Fill the tomato shells with the herb stuffing, pressing down very gently as you go - you want a nice dome of stuffing on top. Place in a greased, ovenproof dish, drizzle over the remaining oil and bake for about 20 minutes. Serve lukewarm.