Pomodori ripieni alla Romana are the most satisfying baked stuffed tomatoes we’ve ever tasted. These rice-stuffed tomatoes are deceptively simple and bursting with flavor. Plus, they’ve got a secret: Vialone nano rice fully cooks INSIDE each tomato! Once cored, you’ll repurpose the tomato juices to cook the rice. This means each individual grain is chock full of tomato-y flavor. To add further depth, we’ve included some umami-laden Sicilian tomato stratto to the mix. Along with a teaspoon of Pantelleria oregano to complement the tomato’s natural floral qualities, and a grating of Vacche Rosse Cheese for richness.
We recommend using medium-sized tomatoes on the vine for this recipe. Not only are the stems adorable upon serving, but we find these tomatoes are the perfect consistency and size for this recipe.
Ingredients
SERVES: 2-3 (or 4-6 as a side dish)
TIME: 1 hour
- Medium-sized tomatoes on the vine, 6-8
- Vialone Nano Rice, 1/2 cup / 100g
- Sicilian Tomato Concentrate, 1 tsp
- Dried Oregano, 1 tsp
- Fine Sea Salt, to taste
- Vacche Rosse Cheese, 1/2 cup / 20g, finely grated
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 tbsp + more as needed
Preparation
- Prep the tomatoes: carefully cut a “lid” out of the top of each tomato and scoop out the insides into a measuring jug. Set the tomato shells and their lids aside.
- Remove any hard white cores from the tomato innards, crushing the rest of the pulp with your fingers to a smooth consistency. Observe the volume of liquid on your measuring jug: you will need about 150ml (just shy of 3/4 cup). If you come up short, simply make up the difference with water.
- In a small bowl, dilute the tomato concentrate with some of the tomato liquid until it forms a smooth paste. Add it back to the tomato pulp along with the uncooked vialone nano rice, the dried oregano, the vacche rosse cheese, the extra virgin olive oil, and fine sea salt. At this point, you can set the mixture aside (or even store it in the fridge overnight) until you’re ready to bake the tomatoes.
- Fill each tomato with the rice mixture, place the lids on top, and nestle in a baking dish. Drizzle more extra virgin olive oil over the top and bake at 400°F / 200°C for 40-50 minutes, until the rice has cooked through and the tomato tops have browned.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, with an extra drizzle of olive oil if desired.
