Stuffed Green Tomatoes

Season

Autumn

Dietary

Vegetarian

Recipe by Pavlina

Stuffing tomatoes or peppers is a traditional Mediterranean way of enjoying them. It's also extremely versatile as you can change the stuffing depending on what veg you have available. You can also change the veg to grain ratio as you like. For a gluten free, veg only version I sometimes make it with adding cooked pinto or red kidney beans instead of grains.

Ingredients

4 to 6 medium sized green tomatoes
1 onion
1 carrot
200-300g of seasonal veg (courgettes, beans, peas, mushrooms)
Handful of parsley or basil
3-4 cloves garlic

From the cupboard

150g rice, pearl barley or naked oats
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt to taste
Cooking oil
Natural yogurt (optional)
Cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions

Chop the onions, carrots and seasonal veg into cubes and stir fry in a cooking pot.
When the onions get translucent add the grains (rice or barley) into the pot and keep stirring until they are well mixed with the veg and cook for about 3-4 min.
Stir in the paprika and add boiling water to the stuffing. Apply 1:4 ratio water to grains. When all the water is absorbed crush the garlic into the mixture and the finely chopped herbs
Use a knife and spoon to carve out the inside of the tomatoes. Stuff them and arrange into a deeper baking dish. Boil water and fill the dish so it covers the tomatoes halfway.
Bake for at least 30 min at 180 degrees or until the skin of the tomatoes gets brownish. If necessary add water while baking.
When you switch of the oven you can add some grated cheddar on the top of each tomatoes. You can also serve with natural yogurt.