The Covered Dish - Breaded Tomatoes

The next couple of weeks I’m going to be featuring my dad, Jerry’s favorite recipes. I remember mom making this delicious dish for pop and he enjoyed it so very much. Mother found the dish totally unappealing. That didn’t stop her, nope, she loved her partner and would do about anything to bring joy into his day. Guess whose favorite dish it is now? Mine! Bring Ervin and I a serving of this yummy southern favorite and we are in heaven.

The last time I presented this recipe was around 2021, (I think). Here are a few of my former comments on this recipe. I would highly recommend staying with white bread, flip it to whole grain, and disappointment is going to follow. If I flipped it to another bread, it would definitely be sour dough. You will notice I have a small amount of cheese in mine. Of course, you could go with plain old American, but my other choice would be smoked Gouda, smoked by yours truly. I’m a little headstrong about my smoked Gouda. Store bought doesn’t have enough umph to it and the flavor seems to dissipate. When I smoke cheese, the flavor is much stronger, which means it will be noticed in the dish. I didn’t say it would take over the dish! I like to make mine with the heavy cream, which lifts it to another level. If you don’t want the calories eat a smaller portion or switch it to milk, which my mother almost always did.

I didn’t chatter a great deal about sugar, like my spaghetti sauce, I like to use just a small amount to cut the acid. Some of the older recipes suggest using brown sugar, which brings in an undertone that is quite complimentary. The amount of sugar is going to be different for each cook. I would start with just a teaspoon and see what you think.

Butter & Bread: Some like to toast the bread, and butter it, before implementing into the recipe, take note that I don’t butter my bread I just put the butter into the dish, but I also think by buttering the bread after toasting it will enhance the outcome too. (This would mean bringing in a bit more butter into the dish too.)

In the summer the addition of herbs, onions, peppers and various spices can ‘gussy’ up the dish. I like to see the top of my breaded tomatoes a bit crunchy, but that’s just me, again!

The week has been a journey for me. I’ve traveled back home unexpectedly, to be with my dad as he transitions towards glory. What a day that will be!

Until next week, readers. Simply Yours, The Covered Dish. Now the recipe:

Breaded Tomatoes

2-3 tablespoons butter to sauté onions

1 small onion, diced fine to medium chop

1 pint or one (15 oz.) can chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup salsa, homemade is a great choice.

May add a teaspoon of white or brown sugar

6-8 slices of bread, dried and crumbled

1/4 to 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or your favorite

1 cup heavy cream,

Salt and Pepper to Taste.

Options: Garlic, chopped celery, peppers or fresh basil. Half and Half instead of Heavy Cream, could use milk too. May omit cheese, which is a bit sacrilegious anyway!

Spray 1.5-quart baking dish with vegetable spray or rub on butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan sauté the onions in the butter. Add all the ingredients together except for the heavy cream. If you are fearful of the dish being runny you could always add 1 or 2 beaten eggs? Slowly add the heavy cream and blend, place in the baking dish. I have been known to cook this in a deep-dish pie pan too. It's done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.