My mother called it scalloped tomatoes......the tomatoes were "stewed" with some onion and celery.
Then put into a baking dish with slices of a very good quality....very dense bread like home made sandwich bread and baked until bubbly.
Love it....almost forgot about it.....best with home canned stewed tomatoes! As a side for cod cakes.
Linda C

When you said "cocaine," I thought that was an odd name for a recipe (unless you're a drug addict, that is), but it triggered a memory. In The Joy of Cooking, Rombauer and Becker designate certain recipes as extra-specially delicious, and they add the appellation "Cockaigne" for these favorites. (The word comes from a medieval term for "a mythical land of peace and plenty" and was also the name for their summer home.)

So, sure enough, there's a Tomato Pudding Cockaigne:

"Either of these recipes should serve 6, but we find the demand for this favorite makes 4 servings a safer count.

I. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In winter, place in a saucepan:
1-1/4 cups tomato puree
1/4 cup boiling water
Heat to the boiling point and add:
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried basil
Place in a 9-inch baking dish:
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs.
Pour over them:
1/4 cup melted butter
Add the tomato mixture and:
(2 Tbsp chopped stuffed olives--optional)
Cover dish closely. Bake the pudding about 30 minutes. Do not lift the lid until ready to serve.

II. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In summer, substitute for the dried basil:
1-1/2 to 2 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
1 tsp chopped chives
1 tsp chopped parsley
and for the tomato puree and water, substitute:
14 skinned, seeded, sliced tomatoes
Bake the dish for 2-1/2 to 3 hours until it has cooked down to a pastelike consistency."

p.s. This recipe reminds me of Ruthanna's Tomato Pudding, which our family enjoys greatly. I always add some slivers of onion to it.

p.p.s. I don't think I'd want to bake it for up to 3 hours in summer!

Sue

The only thing that comes to mind is tomato and bread soup. I had a coworker who made this. It is very thick.

Here is a quickly googled recipe. There are others.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pappa Al Pomodoro

I should have refreshed before posting! Sounds like Sue nailed it.

I grew up with a similar dish we always called - and still do call - "breaded tomatoes." The dish is basically dried bread cubes sauteed in butter and canned stewed tomatoes and a little sugar added to it.

At least, that's how we always do it. Home canned tomatoes are best because they fall apart unlike most commercially canned tomatoes which have calcium chloride added.

If we don't have canned stewed tomatoes we saute onions and, optionally, a little celery before sauteeing the bread cubes and then adding the tomatoes and the bit of sugar.

I often add basil and garlic, but that's not the way my Grandmother did it.

It's one of my all-time favorite comfort foods (along with pickled beets. :)

Sue, I'm glad you posted the "winter" version of the recipe. I've had that cookbook for over thirty years and never noticed it. That would be too much sugar for my taste, but a person can always cut back.

Judi

Sugar! I knew there was something else. You guys r the best. I knew I would get good answers here.

Thanks for the responses, and especially to Sue for the "Cockaigne" lesson. Good stuff. I needed another vegetarian recipe for Thanksgiving, this will be perfect.

Now I want Ruthanna's Tomato Pudding immediately if not sooner. Guess I'll be going to the store for Pepperidge Farm stuffing after work.....ya think they'll have some in stock?

Teresa

Would someone post Ruthanna's recipe, please?

Sally

Sally, in case Ruthanna isn't following this thread, here is her recipe:

TOMATO PUDDING (ruthanna)

2 (1 lb.) cans stewed tomatoes
1 medium onion, halved and slivered
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, divided
2 Tbsp. water
1 cup Pepperidge Farm herb-seasoned stuffing mix

In saucepan, cook tomatoes, onion, sugar, and 1 Tbsp. butter over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by half 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into shallow 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Melt other tablespoon of butter with water; stir in stuffing mix. Spread topping over tomatoes and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until tomatoes are heated and topping is golden. Note: Dry bread cubes can be substituted for the stuffing mix. The tomato-onion mixture can be prepared ahead of time. Just don't add the topping until ready to bake.

Sue

Thanks, Sue! I'll copy and paste it, and I'll also look for the recipes in my Joy of Cooking. This is a preparation of tomatoes I never thought of, and have never had, but I bet I'd like it. I'd probably like it better with plain canned tomatoes rather than stewed, as I don't really like stewed tomatoes. However, it's been a very long time since I've had stewed tomatoes, so I should probably give them a try again. Ruthanna always has such good recipes, I'll give her's a try first.

Sally