Ingredients
COUPLED TOMATOES
12
CARNAROLI RICE
270 gr
SCAMORZA
250 gr
GRATED PARMESAN
40 gr
GRATED PECORINO
40 gr
GARLIC
1 clove
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
to taste
PARSLEY
to taste
BASIL
to taste
SALT
to taste
PEPPER
to taste
Stuffed tomatoes are a great classic of Italian cuisine. A true must in the summer, when tomatoes express their best, they are perfect to prepare in advance and then take to the beach or on a trip out of town.
To make them at home according to the rules of the art with the advice of our Michele Ghedini, you just need to remove the tops from the tomatoes, empty them internally and then let them drain, upside down on a rack, for about half an hour. In the meantime, prepare an aromatic sauce by reducing the pulp of the blended vegetables on the heat with a soffritto of garlic and oil, then use the resulting sauce to flavor the rice, previously boiled al dente in lightly salted boiling water, and enrich everything with a mix of grated parmesan and pecorino. Once the resting time has elapsed, all you have to do is fill the tomatoes with the seasoned rice, stuff them in the center with a cube of scamorza and cook them in a hot oven at 190 °C, together with the caps kept aside, for about 50 minutes.
The result will be a delicious and stringy first course, to be finished with a fresh basil leaf and then served for Sunday lunch with the family or a convivial dinner with friends. If you like, you can make the rice more fragrant with a pinch of powdered saffron or with a teaspoon of Genoese pesto, or you can replace the scamorza with smoked provola or with mozzarella, well drained from the whey.
For this recipe we suggest using a Carnaroli rice variety: particularly rich in starch, it holds up well to cooking and maintains a firm and al dente consistency, absorbing the seasonings perfectly.
Discover how to prepare stuffed tomatoes by following the step-by-step explanations and precious advice of Michele Ghedini. If you liked this recipe, try other stuffed vegetables.
How to prepare stuffed tomatoes
Step 1
Wash the tomatoes, remove the tops and set them aside, then empty the vegetables of seeds and vegetation water 1 and collect the pulp in a bowl.
Step 2
Salt the tomatoes inside and let them drain on a grill upside down for half an hour, then blend the pulp with an immersion blender 2.
Step 3
Brown the garlic with a drizzle of oil in a non-stick pan, then remove the garlic, pour in the blended pulp and let it reduce on a low flame for 15-20 minutes 3. After the time has passed, season with salt and pepper and flavor with a little chopped basil and parsley.
Step 4
Boil the rice in lightly salted boiling water for the time indicated on the package, drain it al dente and transfer it to a large bowl 4.
Step 5
Add the prepared sauce to the boiled rice and mix carefully, then season with grated parmesan and pecorino 5.
Step 6
After the resting time, fill the tomatoes with a spoonful of seasoned rice, stuff a small piece of scamorza in the center 6 and cover with more rice.
Step 7
Place the stuffed tomatoes on a baking tray with baking paper 7, arrange the caps on a separate baking tray and bake everything at 190 °C for about 50 minutes.
Step 8
After the cooking time, remove the stuffed tomatoes from the oven and transfer them to a serving dish. Finish with a fresh basil leaf, complete with the caps cooked in the oven 8, bring to the table and serve.
Stuffed tomatoes: the most delicious variations
Stuffed tomatoes are a dish that lends itself to the most imaginative variations: you can really prepare them in so many different ways. Starting from the vegetarian version, with breadcrumbs flavored with herbs, up to tomatoes stuffed with tuna, in which the vegetables are stuffed with a delicate mousse that even the little ones will love. Also excellent are those with panzanella, ideal to take with you to the beach or for a picnic and then, again, the Roman recipe with potatoes, prepared strictly with raw rice, soaked for about 1 hour in the blended tomato pulp and then flavored with an aromatic mince, oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Alternatively, if you don’t particularly like rice, you can stuff the tomatoes with spelt, but also with couscous, goat cheese or eggs: in short, you’ll be spoiled for choice. Below we offer you 9 alternatives for stuffed tomatoes that are easy, quick and super inviting.
- Tomatoes stuffed with tuna: the recipe for a fresh and tasty dish
Tomatoes stuffed with tuna are a real must for the summer season. Fresh and tasty, they are quick