Stuffed tomatoes are a universal dish, and rice is one of the most common fillings. These stuffed tomatoes are Roman, and as a variation you can make stuffed tomatoes with pasta instead of rice.
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 round, large tomatoes
- 1 cup (200 g) rice (medium grained will be fine -- expensive short-grained would be too much)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 5 basil leaves, shredded
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, shredded
- 1/4 cup minced parsley
- Several potatoes, peeled and sliced
- Pasta (for the variation discussed below)
Preparation:
Boil the rice in lightly salted water, and when it reaches the al dente stage drain it and run it under cold water to keep it from cooking further.
While you're cooking the rice, wash and dry the tomatoes, then cut around their caps and scoop out the pulp with a spoon, being careful not to puncture the tomatoes. Do the scooping over a bowl so as to catch all the liquid that drips from the tomatoes as well, and when you are done blend the pulp and juice. Then combine the blended tomato pulp with the remaining ingredients except the wine.
Preheat your oven to 375 F (170 C).
Stuff the tomatoes with the filling without tamping down too hard, replace the caps, and put them in a lightly oiled oven proof dish. Arrange the sliced potatoes around the tomatoes, pour the wine into the dish, and bake the tomatoes until done, about 45 minutes. Serve either hot or cool.
Variation:
Romans also stuff tomatoes with pasta, using a variety known as cannolicchietti (small rings of pasta, of the same sort one puts into thick soups) -- a tablespoon or at the most two of cooked pasta per tomato.
Empty the tomatoes as you would if you were filling them with rice, reserving the pulp and setting the caps aside. Mince basil, a little garlic and some parsley, and combine the mixture with the cannolicchietti, seasoning everything with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkling some olive oil over it. Fill the tomatoes with the pasta mixture and put them in an oven-proof dish. Put the reserved tomato pulp through a strainer to remove the seeds and sprinkle it around the tomatoes, together with a little more oil; the liquid in the pan should reach half-way up the tomatoes (add more if need be).
Cover the tomatoes with their caps and bake them in a 360 F (180 C) oven for 30-45 minutes. Serve either hot or cold.
While you're cooking the rice, wash and dry the tomatoes, then cut around their caps and scoop out the pulp with a spoon, being careful not to puncture the tomatoes. Do the scooping over a bowl so as to catch all the liquid that drips from the tomatoes as well, and when you are done blend the pulp and juice. Then combine the blended tomato pulp with the remaining ingredients except the wine.
Preheat your oven to 375 F (170 C).
Stuff the tomatoes with the filling without tamping down too hard, replace the caps, and put them in a lightly oiled oven proof dish. Arrange the sliced potatoes around the tomatoes, pour the wine into the dish, and bake the tomatoes until done, about 45 minutes. Serve either hot or cool.
Variation:
Romans also stuff tomatoes with pasta, using a variety known as cannolicchietti (small rings of pasta, of the same sort one puts into thick soups) -- a tablespoon or at the most two of cooked pasta per tomato.
Empty the tomatoes as you would if you were filling them with rice, reserving the pulp and setting the caps aside. Mince basil, a little garlic and some parsley, and combine the mixture with the cannolicchietti, seasoning everything with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkling some olive oil over it. Fill the tomatoes with the pasta mixture and put them in an oven-proof dish. Put the reserved tomato pulp through a strainer to remove the seeds and sprinkle it around the tomatoes, together with a little more oil; the liquid in the pan should reach half-way up the tomatoes (add more if need be).
Cover the tomatoes with their caps and bake them in a 360 F (180 C) oven for 30-45 minutes. Serve either hot or cold.
