Roman style rice and herb stuffed tomatoes with potatoes

Serves 4-6

 Ingredients:

12 vine ripened tomatoes (approximately tennis ball sized)*
2 + 3 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
1 small brown onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
120g (3/4 cup) risotto type rice (carnaroli, Vialone nano or arborio)
120ml (1/2 cup) boiling water
Salt and black pepper
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
800g dutch cream potatoes, peeled
Pinch dried oregano

*If your tomatoes are much bigger just reduce the quantity down from 12 to 8 or even 6

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200C (180C fan forced).

Cut the very top off the tomatoes but reserve the tops. Use a small paring knife to cut the insides of the tomatoes out and then use a small spoon to scoop out the interior flesh and seeds into a small bowl. Repeat until you have done all the tomatoes. Pour the insides through a fine sieve and then pull out the meat of the tomatoes. Try to extract as much of the liquid as possible while discarding as many seeds as possible. Chop the interior “meat” roughly and then recombine with the strained tomato water.  Set aside.

Bring 120ml water to boil in a kettle and set aside.

Heat a medium sized sauté pan over medium high heat and add the 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add in the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and sauté for about 3-4 minutes.  Just enough to soften but not get any color on them. Add in the tomato paste and stir to distribute.  Next, add in the rice and stir to coat.  Add in the tomato water, pulp and the boiling water. Set a 8-minute timer. Bring everything to a simmer and turn to medium heat. Simmer for the full 8 minutes but add in a splash of water if the rice is getting too dry and sticking to the pan. After 8 minutes, turn off the heat and set aside.

Roughly chop the parsley and basil and add to a mixing bowl. Add in the par cooked rice and season with salt and black pepper.  Stir everything together really well and then go about filling each tomato to the top. It should be just enough filling to fill each of the 12 tomatoes completely but not spilling over the top. Any excess rice can be tossed in the baking dish with the potatoes to get crispy and crunchy. Replace the tops on the tomatoes.

Cut the peeled potatoes into wedges (about 6-8 wedges per potato, depending on their size). Scatter the potatoes on the base of a roasting tray. Nestle the filled tomatoes around the potatoes. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top of everything and sprinkle with salt. Cover with baking paper and then cover tightly in aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes and then uncover and bake a further 35-40 minutes until the tops of the tomatoes are wrinkled and browning in spots. This may happen a bit quicker in a fan-forced oven which is more dehydrating than a conventional oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Sprinkle with a pinch of dried oregano just before serving. These are best at room temperature but are excellent cold from the fridge as well.

 Serve alongside a green salad with a simple red wine vinaigrette or as a side dish for roast meats or grilled fish.