Preheat the oven to 325F.

Coat a shallow baking dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Arrange the halved plum tomatoes, cut side up, snugly in the dish.

Season the tomatoes with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a small bowl, drizzle the bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Combine the bread crumbs with the Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, garlic paste, shallot, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.

Top each tomato half with about a tablespoon of the bread crumb mixture.

Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the tomatoes.

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and slightly shrunken and the bread crumbs are golden brown.

To make breadcrumbs: Preheat the oven to 300F.

Remove the crust from the country bread and cut the bread into roughly 1-inch cubes.

Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet.

Bake, tossing them once or twice, until they are crispy and dry but without much color, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the bread cubes cool completely.

Grind the bread cubes in batches, in a spice mill until fine.

Store the bread crumbs frozen for several months.