Having a couple of days off… I cook! My husband loves these stuffed tomatoes. They are perfect for summer.
His Aunt Vivetta had a restaurant in Cecina, near the sea,in Tuscany, where he spent his summers and she always prepared trays of stuffed vegetables, some with meat and bechamel, some with rice and others with a potato filling.
Here is the traditional rice filled tomato, baked with seasoned raw rice, and served cold!
Cut the top third off the tomatoes.
Scoop out and save the seeds and pulp, chopped, in a small bowl.
Add the raw rice, chopped basil and garlic and parmesan and season with salt.
Moisten with olive oil.
Fill tomatoes 2/3 full with the rice mixture and place in a baking dish.
Add 1/2 cup of water and cover with foil.
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 until the rice is cooked. ( I like to baste the rice with some of the water halfway through cooking time)
In Rome, they put potato wedges around the tomatoes, drizzle with oil and season with salt.
You can also shorten the cooking time by parboiling the rice. Don’t over stuff the tomatoes as the rice doubles while cooking.
Best served room temperature.
Ingredients
- 6-8 small ripe tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 cup arborio rice ( one soupspoon of rice per tomato)
- 2 tsp chopped basil leaves
- 2 tbs grated parmigiano cheese
- olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- Cut the top 1/3 off the tomatoes, save the lid.
- Hollow out the tomatoes with a spoon and save in a bowl, remove any hard white core if there is any.
- Add the rice to a bowl with the tomato insides.
- Add minced garlic.
- Add basil, torn into small pieces.
- Scoop the rice into the tomatoes and place in a baking dish.
- Add water halfway up the tomatoes and cover the pan with foil.
- Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
I make them with almost exactly the same ingredients, but in a slightly different way. My recipe is from a Greek book (Aaaah, Greece!) and it requires the rice to be half-cooked first risotto-style. So, you toast the rice in a little oil (should I say extravirgin olive?) with a little onion, than you add the tomato liquid and some vegetable stock or warm water and let cook for about 10 minutes. Finally you add the herbs (Greeks also use anetho, when I can’t grab any I just use whatever I have handy: basil, majoram, fresh oregano…) and let the rice cool down a bit. Than you add it to the tomatoes with a little oil (see above) and a spoonful of vegetable stock or water. IMHO this way it’s easier to gauge the rice cooking time and it also turns out more uniformously cooked than by adding it raw. And the tomatoes are not overdone by the time the rice is done. I haven’t made them in years! SIGH! I need a kitchen to myself!
I agree,precooking the rice is easier!
you risk getting crunchy rice…
but love it,also love packing ti with herbs as you suggest!
FYI aneto is dill for the english speakers!
Ok, dill. Will try to remembre that. Yet, I usually go by the Greek name, just out of love for Geeece and Greek food ^___^
the Greek |_|*|_|*|_|*|_|*|_| food… Sorry, lack of calories is making me silly. I need my lunch!
I also adore Greece, lived there in the late 70’s for about 4 months…
August for me is when I do greek as I adore Dolmades, and can steal the grape leaves from the neighbors vineyard.
Whip up some Tzatziki… and I am happy.
one of my favorite greek desserts is Galaktobouriko, which I learned hanging out in a MILK SHOP in the Plaka.
Was one of those little places everyone hung out at to eat yogurt, his fabulous cold rice pudding and the Galaktobouriko.
Need a Athens fix,it has been over 25 years ago!!
For me it’s been just kinda six years ago.. Maybe seven since the last visit to Athens. I need it all the same. Unfortunately right now I can’t leave italy (actually I should not leave Milano) due to my grandad’s conditions 8-( If things go very wrong and he dies, I may go to Athens for New Year’s. I have never been there in winter.
Diva, Diva, Diva… you are wonderful! I found a knife shop in Firenze where they sharpen knives and sell them and I cannot refind them to buy the interesting Japanese steel knife– not stainless– I want. Do you know the shop I mean? Tiny and run by a dad and son…
Judith, the fabulous knife shop is on via della Spada, just off of Via Tornabuoni.
Tiny, but has it all!
Long way to come from Umbria ..call next time!
gosh, this dish looks fantastic — and healthy too! includes all my favorite ingredients!