Baked stuffed tomatoes

An easy option for entertaining, the smell of these coming from the oven are sure to have your guests lining up. Whole tomatoes are stuffed with a mixture of rice, lamb mince and fresh herbs and baked until juicy and fragrant.

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 6 large tomatoes
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 small brown onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 100 g lamb mince
• 1 small zucchini, grated
• 7 tbsp uncooked koshihikari (sushi) rice
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped mint
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped oregano
• salt and pepper, to season

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180˚C. Cut the top off the tomatoes and use a spoon to hollow them out. Roughly chop the pulp. Reserve both the pulp and the lids.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Fry the onion and garlic for about 1 minute, then add the mince and fry until the mince is browned. Add the zucchini, reserved tomato pulp, rice and 125 ml (½ cup) water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for just 1 minute, then stir through the chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
3. Place the tomatoes in a baking dish or frying pan that fits them snugly. Divide the mixture between the tomatoes and place the lids on top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.