Breaded Tomatoes with Lemon and Parmesan

This side goes well with roasted chicken, grilled steak, or pan-roasted fish.

1½ cups fresh plain breadcrumbs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 Tbsp. lemon zest, finely grated
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
coarse sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
4 large tomatoes, cut into ½" slices

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Lightly oil a 2-quart baking dish.

In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, lemon zest, leaves from a few sprigs fresh thyme and extra-virgin olive oil. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

Arrange 4 large tomatoes cut into ½" slices, in prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly; season with salt and pepper.  Top with breadcrumb mixture.

Bake until tomatoes are tender and crumbs are golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.