Anyway, mamma and I have started working on our winter garden. I'd love to post pictures but it's still a terrible mess. We were out there with our saws and clippers, because we're making a natural fence out of sapling wood to protect our snap peas (we have dogs who love to trot through our vegetables).
It was a lot of work: we were cutting young, green branches from our trees. Then we had to dig deep holes in the ground to put the wood in, and from there, we threaded thinner, younger branches to create a fence.
After a while, we sat to look at the mess of leaves we'd created. "Want to eat?" she asked. Yes. I was hungry.
So off to the kitchen I went to figure something out. There were two organic tomatoes on the counter, and our basil plants are just on their way out but still have a few leaves left.
This is what I made, because we often have these ingredients on hand.
Pomodori al Riso (Rice-stuffed tomatoes)
For two people, you'll need:
-2-4 round tomatoes (preferably organic, but most certainly very red and aromatic. Roma will not work here. You want short, big, and round, not tall and oval.)
-Arborio rice OR short grain brown rice (I used the latter because it's healthier. Arborio rice is the traditional way to make this, and cooks faster)
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Fresh basil
-Fresh oregano (or dried)
-1 clove of garlic, minced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Wash the tomatoes, pat dry, and then cut the tops off. You'll be saving these for later. If your tomatoes come on a vine, leave the stem on, for cute purposes.
-Using a sharp-ended spoon (like a grapefruit spoon), scoop out all of the pulp and seeds from the tomatoes and save in a bowl.
-Place the carved out tomatoes in a baking dish, and sprinkle each with some salt on the inside.
-Mince your garlic and put it in a medium sized bowl.
-In the same bowl, add your rice: about a handful per tomato.
-Add in torn oregano and torn basil, and then dress the whole thing with olive oil. Now stir.
-Now take the bowl of saved tomato pulp. You remembered to save it, right? Using a knife and fork, cut the chunks and then mash them with your fork. (Note: if you're making more than two tomatoes, then just pour it into your blender and blend it for just a few seconds. I use a fork for smaller amounts because I hate having to wash the blender later).
-Spoon about half of the tomato into the bowl of rice, and mix.
-Now, spoon the rice mixture into your tomatoes all the way to the top.
-Put the tops back on the tomatoes, pour the remaining tomato juice over them and into the pan, and drizzle with some extra olive oil.
(I added in a yellow pepper because I had extra rice left over. If you want to do this, follow the same method as with the tomatoes, but cut the top down so that the rice reaches the top of the pepper. Then add the cut slices into the pan so they can cook as well.)
-Cover with tinfoil, and into the oven it goes. For arborio rice: cook for 40 minutes. Short-grain brown rice: at least an hour, perhaps longer.
Check after noted time to make sure rice is cooked thoroughly (use a fork and taste it). If not, put it back in the oven for some time. When finished, add some more oregano and basil into the dish and re-cover with the tinfoil until ready to serve. The end result should have your tomatoes soft and delicious, overflowing with rice, and it will be irresistibly aromatic.
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