Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 kg large, firm, well-shaped tomatoes
• 250g courgettes, grated or minced
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup fresh basil, shredded
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon currants
• 2 tablespoons pinenuts, lightly toasted
• 100g basmati rice
• a pinch freshly ground allspice
• a pinch cayenne pepper
• salt / freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon wholemeal breadcrumbs

Wash the tomatoes, but don’t dry them. Cut off the tops and reserve. Scoop out the insides and reserve. (A serrated grapefruit spoons works a treat!) Place the tomatoes in an oven-proof dish. Place the tomato pulp in a food processor and pulse one or two times. You need a 'chunky' liquid.
Mix together the courgettes, onion, garlic, herbs, fruit, nuts, rice, seasoning and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add 2/3 of the tomato pulp and mix well. Fill up the tomatoes with this mixture, but don’t pack the filling in tightly. Top with the lids of the tomatoes.
Mix the rest of the pulp with the remaining oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour over and around the tomatoes, sprinkle the top of each tomato with a little extra salt and pepper and the breadcrumbs.
Bake at 200°C for 1 ½ hours. You may need to cover the dish loosely with a little aluminium foil if the tops start to burn (though a little burning is good!) and add a very, very little water if the sauce gets too dry. Don’t overdo it as the sauce will loose its rich, full 'tomato-ness'.

 

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