Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Herbed Rice
recipe by Cesare Casella for Food & Wine
Ingredients:
- Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (3/4 pound)
- 12 medium tomatoes
- 3 anchovy fillets, mashed*
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened*
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the rice over high heat until al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain the rice thoroughly and transfer it to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, cut off the top fourth of each tomato; reserve the tops. Using a melon baller and working over a bowl, hollow out the tomatoes. Pass the tomato pulp, seeds and juices through a food mill fitted with the fine disk**.
- In a bowl, mash the anchovies with the butter. Stir the anchovy butter into the hot rice, then mix in the tomato puree, cheese, red pepper, basil and parsley. Season the rice and the hollowed-out tomatoes with salt and pepper. Stuff each tomato with 1/3 cup of the rice. Put the tops on the tomatoes and transfer to an oiled roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes, basting with the pan juices; the tomatoes are done when they are tender and the rice is warm. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings.
Make Ahead: The stuffed tomatoes can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before baking.
*Of course you could leave the anchovies out, but they really do add wonderful flavor. So, rather than purchasing unsalted butter and anchovy filets, how about buying some of Les Parisiennes anchovy and caper butter and save yourself the effort of making your own. All the flavor without the hassle!
**If you don’t have a food mill, never fear. You can pulse the tomato pulp in a food processor, use a stick blender, or press it through a sieve or colander with the back of a wooden spoon.
Don’t forget to check the recipe archive for more delicious tomato recipes.
