Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes

It's been a quintessential summer so far where we've been blessed with hot, humid weather. Unfortunately those days are soon coming to an end, as the sun is setting earlier and the cool evenings require a sweater.

However, summer isn't quite over yet. We've officially hit peak tomato season and all I want to do is consume tomatoes.

I've had them raw in salads, bursting with tomato flavour; cooked into ratatouille, where all the summer vegetables shine through; stuffed with rice and baked, concentrating that tomato-ness.

I'm a huge fan of rice-stuffed vegetables, where the rice takes on the flavour of the vegetable. How can you amp up the flavour of the rice, you ask? By cooking it in the flesh of the vegetable first.

This dish captures tomatoes at its finest. One could only dream that tomatoes would taste like this year-round.

Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes
From Smitten Kitchen

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse or Kosher salt
6 medium-to-large tomatoes
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 medium or 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
9 tablespoons arborio or another short-grained starchy rice
Vegetable stock or water, if necessary
Few tablespoons chopped parsley, oregano or slivered basil (or mix thereof)
Handful breadcrumbs, if using

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat an ovenproof baking dish with olive oil.

Prepare tomatoes: cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out tomato juices, seeds and flesh into a non-reactive bowl, being careful not to pierce the bottom of the tomatoes. Salt the cavities of the tomatoes and turn them upside down on a plate to drain.

Prepare reserve: run scooped-out tomato flesh and juices through a food mill or pulse in a blender until coarsely pureed. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons olive oil, heating it too. Once hot, add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking them together for 2 minutes, or until onion begins to soften. Add rice and cook them together for about 3 minutes, or until rice toasts a little. Add tomato puree and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt, then cover skillet with a lid, and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until rice is par-cooked. Adjust seasoning if needed.

(I didn't have enough tomato puree to par-cook the rice so I added some vegetable stock for additional liquid, though water will do as well.)

Reassemble tomatoes: stir fresh herbs into tomato-rice mixture. Arrange tomatoes right-side-up in baking pan then spoon mixture into tomatoes, filling them just 7/8 of the way to leave room for the rice to finish expanding. Coat with breadcrumbs that you can drizzle lightly with olive oil, if using, or you can replace the tomato lid on each.

Bake: uncovered for 30 minutes, until tomato walls are soft and the rice inside has finished cooking. Serve hot.