Since 2010 Marius has been selling high quality foods and baking home made cakes and savouries making this the first real “foodie mecca” in Bucharest. In particular the range of top quality Romanian artisanal products is second to none.
Now it also has a regular supply of organic veggie suppliers too – some of whom you can order in advance from. The quality of these is excellent and I savour how they really do taste like the veggies you knew from childhood.
My love of stuffed tomatoes started young. On a holiday to France we were driving through Marseilles. I think I was nine. My mum stopped at a charcuterie and as we waited in the car a girl rode by with a pet monkey on the child’s seat of her bicycle. The small black monkey, the smell of those still warm stuffed tomatoes, eating them as a picnic lunch…I can still taste how good they were. Its funny how certain memories are etched on your brain forever. So here is a recipe that I make over and over again whenever I find giant tomatoes.
Perhaps buying the tomatoes is half of the fun?
Gadgets & Gizmos Deep baking tray or ceramic dish
Ingredients: serves four
This recipe is a guide as stuffed vegetables should be seen as handy recipients for leftovers: • 4 x 200g of big fat ripe tomatoes or 6 smaller ones • 100g rice and 50g green lentils or 100g couscous and 25g currants • 1 small onion finely chopped or 3 spring onions • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • Selection of fresh herbs: parsley/ basil/ thyme/ mint chopped roughly • 1/2 tsp allspice • Olive oil for brushing and drizzling • 60g hard cheese (optional) something like parmesan or gruyere but strong cheddar is fine • salt and freshly ground black pepper
