Valentine's day is a celebration of love & affection and symbolized by color red & hearts. Initially had planned to post a sweet/dessert recipe suitable for this mood but couldn't get my mind off the red color. After thinking which would be apt recipe to share for this love struck occasion I couldn't stop thinking of a tomato recipe. Stuffed tomato - is a one such one pot meal recipe perfect for a romantic lunch/dinner with your loved one.
This recipe is basically tomato with pulp removed & instead stuffed with a rice, veggies & cheese filling. This stuffed tomato is then placed on a toasted bread slice & baked/broiled till the tomatoes are cooked. Served along side salad this is a complete meal in itself. The filling for this recipe itself forms a very comforting & tasty recipe. So if you want serve this dish to your kids I would suggest serving the Rice filling only as they may find it a little difficult to eat it with tomato. Add more cheese if they like it.
Now to the recipe....
Ingredients:
4 Large Tomatoes
1 small onion finely chopped
½ green pepper (Capsicum) finely chopped
½ red pepper (Capsicum) finely chopped
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of green chillies finely chopped (or to taste)
1 teaspoon of dry oregano leaves
1 teaspoon of dry parsley leaves
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoon of oil for cooking
4 bread slices
1 cup of cooked rice
½ cup of cheese (of your choice, am using nachos & tacos blend)
Method:
Cut a thin slice from the top of the tomato & using a knife pierce the sides as shown. Then using a spoon scoop out the pulp leaving hollow tomato shell. Continue doing this for all the tomatoes. Dice the pulp portion into small pieces & keep it aside. We will be using it in the filling.
In a vessel, heat the oil & once hot add garlic & saute for a few seconds then add onion & green chilli & saute till raw garlic smell disappears & onions are translucent. Now add the green & red pepper & saute. Once the bell peppers are slightly cooked add salt, pepper, dry oregano, dry parsley & Italian seasoning. Mix well.
Now add the diced tomato pulp that we had kept aside earlier. Mix. Once the tomatoes turn soft add the cooked rice & mix. Now add ¼ cup of cheese & mix. Our Rice filling is ready. Keep it aside.
Toast the bread & cut it into round shape using cutter. Preheat the oven to 350F
Apply some butter to the round cut bread slices & place them equidistantly on a oven safe dish. Place the hollow tomatoes over these round slices. Season the tomatoes slightly with salt & pepper. Now fill them with rice filling till the rim. Top it with the remaining cheese & sprinkle some parsley on top. Bake for 10 mins & then broil for 5-10 mins or till cheese melts & develops a slight golden brown color crust. Don't over cook the tomatoes just bake till they are soft yet are able to retain their shape.
That's it, our Stuffed tomato -One pot meal is ready. Serve it along with salad of your choice.
Wishing All A very Happy Valentine's day, Stay blessed with Love Always!!
Happy Cooking!!
Shweta
Shweta Arora says
Its a mix of few herbs like rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, majoram, sage etc. It add a good flavor but incase you dont have it, you can add these herbs individually as well.
anees akbar says
what is italian seasonning ? can I skip it ?
Apani Rasoi says
looks yummy perfect breakfast
Indian Vegetarian Recipes
Mahmudul Hasan says
Nice recipe and great tutorial as well. Thanks for the share. I love this recipe and enjoy with ur words!
Romantic dinner recipes
Krithi Karthi says
This is something so elegant and healthy!