Stuffed, Baked Tomatoes with an Egg

This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Lidia Bastianich.
I've posted a recipe for Eggs baked in Avocados, Mushroom Caps with Baked Eggs and when I started researching other options for Baked Eggs, I discovered Eggs Baked in Tomatoes. This recipe seemed to be the best.

4 tomatoes
2 C croutons
2/3 C grated parmesan cheese, divided
2 TBS fresh parsley
4 TBS olive oil, divided
2 tsp dry oregano, divided
1 tsp salt + additional
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and reserve them.
Gently scoop out some of the insides of the tomatoes , leaving the side and bottom intact enough to stuff.
Keep the insides and place them in a colander over a bowl and strain the juice, retain the juice and set it aside.

Begin making the stuffing:
In a large bowl:
Croutons
Parsley
1/3 C parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano
Mix well
Drizzle with 1 TBS of olive oil and mix to moisten the stuffing.

Salt the inside of each tomato.
Divide the stuffing evenly among the tomatoes, pressing down lightly, but don't overfill them.
They will each need room for an egg at the end.

Drizzle 2 TBS of olive oil in a  shallow gratin dish.
Place the tomatoes in the dish.
Oil the 4 tomato tops with 1 TBS of oil and sprinkle with salt.
Gently lean the tops against the side of each tomato.
Pour some of the reserved juice into the dish and drizzle some over each tomato.
Cover the dish with foil.
Bake covered for 10 minutes.
With the back of a spoon, gently press an indentation in the center of the stuffing in preparation for an egg to be cracked into each one.
Gently crack 1 egg in the center of each tomato.
Top tomatoes with remaining parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle with remaining oregano.
Return the dish, uncovered and bake 15 minutes more.
Remove from the oven and place the tops onto each tomato without covering the eggs completely.

Serve them in individual serving dishes. and drizzle each one with some of the heated juice from the pan.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!