From mucking about the other day with different breadcrumb toppings, came the idea for stuffed tomatoes with a savoury topping. Initially, the crumb topping was just for roasted, whole tomatoes and very good it was, but as is the way with these things, other ideas soon popped in my head and suddenly I was chopping up calamari and eggplant to stuff the tomatoes with.

Tomatoes with Squid & Eggplant

4 large tomatoes
100ml olive oil
1 small eggplant* (aubergine), diced small
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small hot chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 calamari, cleaned, body, tentacles and wings diced small
good pinch ground cumin
salt & fresh ground pepper
2 heaped tablespoons chopped parsley

Scoop out the flesh of the tomatoes being careful not to make any holes. Discard the seeds and liquid, then finely chop the flesh, keep aside. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the eggplant, garlic and chillies until softened. Turn up the heat and quickly fry the calamari for a minute, then add the reserved tomato flesh, pinch cumin, salt, pepper and parsley, cook for another minute. Fill the tomato cases with this mixture and top thickly with savoury breadcrumbs. Bake in a 220c oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until browned.

Savoury Breadcrumbs

2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped
8 green olives, finely chopped
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and moisten with the olive oil, so the crumbs stick together slightly.

*If you can't find a small one, two or three slices from a large one will suffice.