Puttanesca Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes (Karen’s Savory Recipe)

Intensely flavored rice salad with Mediterranean ingredients: olives, onions, garlic, capers and fresh herbs — served cold or at room temperature.
This makes a wonderful side dish or a light lunch and is a terrific addition to summer meals and picnics.

Next week — Look for my favorite summer recipes to make right now!

**Puttanesca Rice Stuffed Tomatoes filled with Mediterranean flavors — best served at room temperature**

Summer tomatoes will soon be ripe on the vine — and I’m ready for that home-grown flavor!

These are a hothouse variety with vibrant color and a pleasant flavor.

These are stuffed with a rice salad and topped with pesto — not cooked in the oven!

Hollow out tomatoes - save tops for dicing — **Hollow out tomatoes with a small sharp knife — save the tops for dicing and reserve the pulp and juice**

Hollow the tomatoes with a small sharp knife, sprinkle the insides lightly with salt, and invert them on a paper towel until you are ready to stuff them.

The method:

Cook long-grain rice. Sauté the puttanesca flavoring ingredients, stir them into the warm rice, fill the tomatoes, then refrigerate or chill. To serve, drizzle each stuffed tomato with pesto and garnish with fresh herb sprigs. They are best at room temperature, so remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Alternatively, refrigerate the rice filling and fill room-temperature tomatoes just before serving.

Options:
This recipe can easily be made vegan: replace the parmesan in pesto with nutritional yeast and omit the anchovy. Or, if you prefer, fold in feta or goat cheese crumbles to the rice for a creamier bite. Toasted pine nuts make a nice crunchy garnish.

Sauté onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, and olives then fold in the cooked rice — **Sauté onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, olives, anchovies, capers and chili flakes — then fold in the cooked rice**

Filling for the stuffed tomatoes:

Sauté onions and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil.
Add the reserved diced tomato tops, sliced olives, capers, anchovy (optional), chili flakes and sea salt.
Stir in reserved tomato juice and cooked long-grain rice while the rice is still warm; fold in thinly sliced basil.
Garnish with a drizzle of basil pesto and herb sprigs.

Puttanesca Rice Stuffed Tomatoes on a platter — **Puttanesca Rice Stuffed Tomatoes — a flavorful, light summer dish**

Enjoy this healthy summer dish!
Karen

Karen’s Puttanesca Stuffed Rice Tomatoes

Intensely flavored rice salad with Mediterranean ingredients — olives, onions, garlic, capers and fresh herbs. Served cold or at room temperature. A wonderful side or light lunch. These are stuffed with a rice salad and topped with pesto, not baked.

Equipment

1 small sauté pan

Ingredients

4 medium perfectly ripe tomatoes
1 cup cooked long-grain white rice (see notes)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons diced sweet onion (such as Vidalia)
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced or finely grated
1/3 cup diced tomatoes (from the reserved tomato tops)
1/2 cup sliced olives (quality, oil-marinated preferred)
1 tablespoon capers
1 whole anchovy filet, minced (optional)
2 pinches hot chili flakes
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons reserved tomato juice (from the hollowed tomatoes)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, very finely chopped (chiffonade)

Garnishes

1 tablespoon basil pesto (to drizzle)
4 medium herb sprigs (basil, oregano or marjoram)

Instructions

Cook the rice (see notes). Use the rice while it is still warm to absorb the flavors.
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and save them. Scoop out the tomato flesh, seeds and juice into a bowl and reserve. Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with kosher salt and invert them on a paper towel to drain. Dice the tomato flesh from the saved tops, discarding the core.
Saute the flavoring ingredients: In an 8″ skillet over low heat, warm the EVOO. Add the diced onions and garlic and cook about 2 minutes, until just softened. Add the diced tomato tops and cook 2 minutes to develop flavor.
Add the olives, capers, anchovy (if using), chili flakes, salt and pepper and cook another 2 minutes.
Strain 2 tablespoons of tomato juice from the reserved tomato mixture and add it to the pan. Add the cooked rice while it is still a bit warm and stir well to combine. Fold in the sliced basil.
Invert the drained tomatoes and stuff them with the rice-puttanesca mixture.
To serve: Bring stuffed tomatoes to room temperature if refrigerated, about 30 minutes before serving. Drizzle each tomato with basil pesto and garnish with an herb sprig. Arrange on a bed of fresh basil leaves for presentation.
Store stuffed tomatoes in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one day. Rice can be made ahead and added to tomatoes later.

Notes

Cooking long-grain rice: Sauté 2 tablespoons onion in 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, add herb sprigs if desired, then add rice and water (1 part rice to 2 parts water) with a pinch of sea salt. Cook over low heat until the water is absorbed and fluff with a fork. Do not overcook — the grains should remain separate.

Olives: Use quality oil-marinated olives when possible and slice them thinly.

Nutrition information provided is approximate: calories 139 kcal per serving; carbohydrates 19 g; protein 3 g; fat 6 g; sodium 437 mg. Use as a general guide.