Stuffed

Stuffed vegetables are an important part of Sephardi culture. They are festive and celebratory dishes, considered grand and refined. They reveal the skill of the cook and the wish to honour a guest.
Claudia Roden on the Sephardic Jews and their adoration of vegetables in her inspiring Book of Jewish Food.

Roden makes a (typically) excellent point, one I wish I had heeded (or perhaps, you know, actually read) sooner. The hollowing of vegetables into cargoes for filling, either simply or decadently, had always seemed overwhelmingly silly. As though I had better things to do in the kitchen. You know, serious things. It took a dish of zucchini and tiny, no-bigger-than-a-thumb, home grown crookneck squash, hollowed with the pointed tip of a wee teaspoon and stuffed à la the classic, swoon-inducing Imam Biyaldi to change that attitude from one of ostracism to deep and abiding affection. Those squash were followed quickly by some pilaf-filled peppers and, the following weekend, a Roden dish of small eggplants split and stuffed with a coconut and spice paste. Ugly - very - but Oh, My, God. Talk about glorious.

It seems that I have fallen, hard, for all things Stuffed. 

Copied into my journal over Christmas at the table, between chatting and cooking with my mother in her bustling, book-lined kitchen, the Pomodori Ripeni di Riso from Italian Vegetarian Cooking by Emanuela Stucchi - a cookbook shot, prettily, by Gus Filgate in that soft-focus thing that was popular in the 90’s - kept a’ calling. The page seems to fall open to the recipe automatically each time I open the damn journal to write. Took it as a sign, I did.

 

I like the confidence shown in recipes copied by hand, the shortcuts that come with experience, the reorganisation of things on the page to suit your eyes. Copying recipes by hand makes you read closely, adjusting and notating as you go. I do hope the instruction to select ‘8 round, ripe, sun-soaked fat tomatoes’ for stuffing is mine. I'm particularly pleased with the fat part. Toms, well, they are fat right now. Fat enough to swell and burst their skins right there on the vine. Our recent crippling heat has done nothing to abate their lush growth. Who could ask for more in this dry, waterless new world?

Get stuffing. These are simple but superb.  

Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice feeds 4-6

Or Pomodori Ripeni di Riso for the more romantically inclined. Feeds? Probably 6, but I have blokes here who eat everything in large quantities, so for us, it feeds 4. This blank canvas of a recipe is simple – almost stupidly so – but takes time. Set aside a couple of hours for soaking and baking. Caramelised onions added to the stuffing are good and you can alter the herbs, add pitted olives, nuggets of goats cheese…you decide. All good in my book.  

8 round, ripe, sun-soaked fat tomatoes
Coarse sea salt
3/4 cup of Arborio (or similar) rice
1/3 cup chopped herbs (mixture of basil, oregano/marjoram, thyme, mint)
Olive oil
1 head of garlic, broken up but not peeled

Carefully slice off the tomato caps and reserve. Scoop out the seeds and pulp and place in a bowl, chopping any huge chunks into smaller pieces (scissors are helpful here for the lazy cook, which if I'm to be honest, I often am). Go carefully – don’t pierce the shells. Using the coarse sea salt, generously sprinkle their insides and turn them upside down to drain on paper towels.

Stir the rice, herbs and 4 tablespoons of oil into the reserved tomato goo. Peel 2 cloves of the garlic. Chop them finely and mix into to the rice. Season with a little salt and pepper and rest for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 C (375 F). Scoop out the salt from the tomato shells and fill each a little over halfway with the rice mixture. Arrange in a baking tray and pop their lids back on. Strew the remaining garlic around the tray.

Strain the rice and tomato juices into a jug. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pour this mixture over the stuffed toms. Bake for at least 1 hour, perhaps a little longer, basting frequently. Glorious, glorious.

Comments

[Laurie Constantino]

Stuffed late summer vegetables are one of the culinary year's joys. One day you should try them with some onions, mint, and a few currents; they're dreamy. In fact I'm dreaming about them right now...

[Umm Bilal]

oh my gosh...your pictures are more than enough to nourish one! Superb!
You may find this link to an online sufi cookbook come art gallery come mystical poetry of interest. Should have included it in your last post...ho hum as Pooh would have said.
http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/
Thanx again for an inspiring visit.

[cassie]

Lucy, that just looks so damn good! Tomatoes are the one food I miss most throughout our long winters. Can't wait to give this a try come summer. Have never stuffed tomatoes in this manner and am intrigued at your method. Looks great!

[Susan]

Off with their heads! My, oh, my...would I feel like the Queen of Hearts feasting on these beauties. Blissful.

[Sophie]

You make these sound so lovely Lucy.

I've never really got into vegetable stuffing but there are such wonderful recipes to try. I think I'm secretly afraid of breaking the veggies before I get to the stuffing stage - all that careful scooping out.

[Lisa]

You know, I have only made stuffed tomatoes once in my entire life. Inspiring post Lucy. I should reconsider this stuffed veggie thing. I bet these would be delightful with millet, and perhaps a bit of Parmesan cheese.

[Callipygia]

the photos say it all- glorious bulbs of sunshine. An hour basting in heat and olive oil makes even a weak watery tomato into a stunner!

[shula]

Okay you got me.

[Court]

I've always avoided the stuffed vegetables for some reason, but these actually peak my interest. The rice cooks *inside* the tomatoes? How do you know how much to put in each shell?

[shiny]

yum yum yum yum yum!
x

[another outspoken female]

Such patience is inspiring :)

[reddoorread]

beautiful pictures. i'm going to make these. i love food inside food.

[Wendy]

I like pretty food and stuffed vegetables are pretty food. Plus they taste great. Hugely curious about these though as the rice cooks inside the tomato. I've only ever stuffed cooked rice into something. Shall be trying this in the summer when big tomatoes taste of something again.
For the moment it's baby or tinned only.

[Ganga]

I love these too, and make a similar version. I took them to a "take a dish" dinner party last week and they were a great hit.

[MsGourmet]

Scrumptious!

[noica]

looks wonderful! my mother makes these with red sweet pepper also very good!

[Rosa]

Well, you know how I feel about stuffed vegetables, so I'm glad you now feel the same way! I'd like to try this tomato recipe with quinoa...

[Christina]

Oh beautiful summer stuffingness! I can't wait.

Thanks, as always, for the inspiration.

[Stephanie]

are they really YOUR tomatoes from YOUR garden??? I'm so deeply impressed and envious....

[Chuck]

Look at those stuffed tomatoes!!! I can taste them now. Beautiful photos!

[chelsea]

I can almost smell these beauties! (Especially the photo with their little fuzzy stems)

Just started my seedlings inside this past weekend. I still have *months* to go before I see anything as delectible as these (sigh).

I'll just enjoy your pictures in the meantime...

[docwitch]

Bloody yum! They look illegally good.

I love the way you've put their wee caps, (with little stalks looking like they are doing a "ta-da!" ), back on afterwards.