for times when you find BIG RIPE tomatoes…
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
Very thick Greek yoghurt to serve
