Roman Rice-stuffed Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 tomatoes (- large such as Tomato on-the-vine kind)
• 180 g rice (- 6 oz of arborio or carnaroli rice (~1 1/2 tablespoons per tomato))
• 2 cloves garlic
• 10 basil (leaves)
• 4-5 mint (leaves)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)

Instructions

1. 1

   cut: Wash and dry the tomatoes. With a sharp cutter, cut them to about two-thirds of their height so that you get small caps that you will use as a lid. Keep them aside.

2. 2

   cut: Then, with the help of a teaspoon and a knife, empty the tomatoes, collecting the pulp and juice in a bowl. Be careful not to puncture the bottom of the tomato.

3. 3

   Turn the tomatoes upside down and let them drain a bit on a dish towel.

4. 4

   blend: Now with an immersion blender blend the tomato pulp. If you prefer to have the tomato pieces in the filling, you can also coarsely mash the pulp with a fork.

5. 5

   Strain the blended pulp through a fine-mesh strainer so that the seeds and stringy residue are removed. Alternatively, a vegetable strainer can be used at this stage. You basically have to use the juice from the tomatoes for this recipe. Set aside.

6. 6

   mince: Using an electric chopper, mince the garlic - stripped of its center- along with the mint and basil. Add the herbs to the blended tomato pulp.

7. 7

   rince and add: Rinse the uncooked rice under running water to remove starch and add it to the tomato juice.

8. 8

   add and stir: Add the salt and oil. Stir well and let everything season for about 1 hour. Be careful, this step is critical!

9. 9

   fill: After the resting time has elapsed, transfer the empty tomatoes to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Fill them with the rice mixture. Add all the sauce as well. Do not overfill the tomatoes; the rice will swell and increase in volume while cooking.

10. 10

    season: Close the tomatoes with the caps we kept aside. Drizzle with more oil and season with salt.

11. 11

    Bake at 200°C (390°F) for about 45 minutes. The tomatoes should wilt and toast, they will be a bit cracked when cooked, and the rice should be cooked but not flaky.

12. 12

    serve: The Roman rice-stuffed tomatoes are ready! They are great served warm or even at room temperature.