Heirloom Tomatoes with Summer Succotash

I refuse to believe that summer is over. Sure...I'm thrilled that I'm sitting here with the windows open instead of the a/c blasting. And the countdown has begun for our Halloween blowout...with Turkey Day and Christmas not far behind. But, dang, I'm gonna miss tomatoes from the market. Summer squash. And other surprises (like the fresh lima beans in this recipe) courtesy of our local farmers.

So I'm going to hang on to it as long as I can. And make dishes like this until the very last second possible....

(A couple of notes: I like my lima beans more tender than this recipe calls for. So I cooked them for about an hour with a little bit of salt pork flavoring the cooking water a couple of days ago. Scooped out 3/4 cup and rinsed and drained them before continuing. Also...my tomato was not as tender as I wanted it, so rather than stuffing it, I chopped it into chunks after roasting and threw it in with the other veggies. And don't skip the chives. They're a great and necessary flash of flavor.)

Heirloom Tomatoes with Summer Succotash
From Food & Wine magazine.
Makes 4 servings.

3/4 cup shelled lima beans (4 ounces)
1 large ear of corn, kernels cut off the cob (about 3/4 cup)
8 firm, ripe heirloom tomatoes (about 5 ounces each)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 1/2 tablespoons snipped chives

Preheat the oven to 425°. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the lima beans and corn and boil until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the beans and corn, transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Slice off the bottom of each tomato so it sits flat. Using a knife, cut around the center of each tomato to form a cone that can easily be removed once the tomato is baked. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil and set them in a large pie plate, stem side up. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper and roast just until tender, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then spoon out and discard the centers to make room for the succotash.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 1/2 teaspoons of the butter in the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the bell pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the limas and corn and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of butter and the chives and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the succotash into the tomatoes and serve warm or at room temperature.