Tomatoes Filled With Rice

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• olive oil
• 1/3 cup arborio rice
• 1/3 cup water
• 5 fresh basil leaves
• salt
• breadcrumbs
• 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 350°f.
• 2 cut the tops off the tomatoes. holding them over a bowl, scoop out their insides – flesh, seeds, and juice – and let it all fall into the bowl. set the tomatoes in a lightly oiled 9”x13” baking dish. then fish the flesh out of the bowl, and chop it. return it to the bowl with the juice and seeds.
• 3 in a medium (2-quart) saucepan, warm a glug of olive oil over medium heat. add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent.
• 4 add the rice, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two.
• 5 add the tomato flesh, juice, and seeds – it may look like a lot, but add it all – as well as the water.
• 6 tear the basil leaves into small pieces, and add them too. add a generous pinch or two of salt. reduce the heat slightly, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes. taste, and if needed, add more salt.
• 7 spoon the par-cooked rice mixture into the tomatoes. top them with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.
• 8 arrange the potato slices around the tomatoes in the pan. give everything a good drizzle of olive oil. (you might want to flip and rub the potatoes a bit, to make sure that each has a nice coat of oil.)
• 9 bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. the tomatoes should shrivel a bit and release some of their juices, and the potatoes should cook through.
• 10 cool for 15 minutes or so before eating, so that the tomato juices have time to settle.