Use any ripe tomato you prefer for this dish. Late in the season, roma plum tomatoes are usually the best choice, since they keep a long time even when ripe. If using a processor to chop the mushrooms, “pulse” them in small batches, stopping before they clump.

INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6 as an appetizer or side dish, or up to 12 as a tasty garnish

• 4 shallots, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound white mushrooms, washed and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon salt plus 2 pinches
• Splash of white wine (about ¼ cup)
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 large ripe plum tomatoes, halved crosswise, bottoms trimmed flat
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs

1. Sauté chopped shallots with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped mushrooms (if some don't fit, you can add them later, when the rest have wilted down) and 1 teaspoon salt, and raise heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have given up their water, and most of it has evaporated.

2. Add the white wine, and cook until it has mostly evaporated. Stir in chopped parsley, remove from heat, and season with freshly ground black pepper.

3. Scoop the innards from the tomatoes, and season the tomato cups with 2 pinches salt. Fill each tomato with mushroom filling so that it mounds slightly, topping each with a sprinkle of bread crumbs. Line into a baking dish, and drizzle with remaining olive oil. Bake 25 minutes, until soft, at 350 degrees.