Pomodori Ripieni – Stuffed Tomatoes

Have you ever wondered why just about every Italian city and town have a street called via XX Settembre (20th of September?) Well, think Italian unification – Italians of the late nineteenth century wanted their capital in Rome. Now channel the Bersaglieri. Yes the Bersaglieri, those fast stepping infantrymen with the coolest hats ever. And I do mean ever. Decorated with Woodcock feathers, the hats are shown off to wonderful advantage when the Bersaglieri are on parade. Take a moment to look at the YouTube video. You’ll love it. However, I digress. Although the Kingdom of Italy was formed in 1861 at which time Rome was declared its capital, geopolitical tensions of the day prevented Italian patriots from taking control of the city. Nine years later on September 20, 1870 the Bersaglieri marched on Rome and ended the Papal States’ dominion over the capital, a rule that had lasted more than a thousand years. And that, dear Reader, is why Italian cities have streets called via XX Settembre. Celebrate with a traditional Roman dish, Pomodori Ripieni, Stuffed Tomatoes.

Just to give you an idea about the hard feelings here – the first time the Vatican attended the XX Settembre commemoration was last year, as in 2010. Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said before the ceremony “We are here to take part in a symbolic gesture and to re-affirm the fact that Rome is the indisputable capital of Italy, just like it is the heart of everything that concerns the Church.” Oh my.

Pomodori Ripieni, Stuffed Tomatoes are a traditional Roman summer dish. It is particularly pretty if you use a variety of colors or types of tomatoes. Pictured are Banana Legs and Martino’s Roma. This dish is more than the sum of its parts. The rice filling is extremely tasty, and in fact makes a very nice side dish all on its own. These are wonderful cold, and set nicely into a frittata, make an eye-catching brunch offering.

If you do not have arborio rice, you can use carnaroli. And if you have no rice at all, orzo is great. And I can hear you from here. “Adri, are you nuts? Turn my oven to 350 degrees? It’s too hot.” Rest easily – put these tomatoes together, cover with foil, and bake them in your covered grill. Climate problems solved.

Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise, scoop insides, and sprinkle with salt.

Place cut tomatoes cut side down on a tray lined with paper towels.

Prepare filling.

Stuff tomatoes and bake.

Pomodori Ripieni

1 cup arborio OR carnaroli rice
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano OR Grana Padano
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch peperoncino flakes
1/3 cup reserved tomato scoopings
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, minced
1 bay leaf
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
12 small Roma tomatoes (about 3 ounces each)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook rice 10 minutes in abundantly salted water with 2 tablespoons olive oil and one bay leaf. Drain and discard bay leaf.

Meanwhile prepare tomatoes. Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise, and using a teaspoon or melon baller, scoop contents (seeds, meat and jelly) into a separate bowl. Do not discard. Be careful not to cut too closely to the outer wall of the tomato. You want the tomato shell to hold its shape so that it can withstand baking and serve nicely. Sprinkle inside of tomato with salt, and place cut side down to drain on a tray lined with paper towels while you prepare filling.

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet. Add garlic, shallot and peperoncino flakes. Saute gently until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Do not allow the garlic and shallots to brown – do that and they will taste bitter and ruin your dish. Set aside.

Pour rice into mixing bowl, and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add garlic and shallot mixture, parmigiano, basil, parsley, oregano and 1/3 cup reserved tomato scoopings. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly coat baking dish with olive oil. Fill tomatoes with rice mixture, mounding slightly. Place in baking dish. At this point you may scatter any remaining rice on the bottom of the baking dish around the tomatoes or cover and refrigerate the extra for later use.  Drizzle lightly with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake approximately 20 minutes until tomatoes have begun to soften and tops are a bit brown, longer for larger tomatoes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This will make enough filling for about 20 small Roma type tomatoes or 10 medium tomatoes (about 5 ounces each) or 4 gigantic tomatoes, such as Brandywine, Persimmon or Copia. The large tomatoes are quite impressive here. If you decide to go for the heavyweights, reserve the tops after you slice them off, and replace them for baking, drizzling a bit of olive oil over the tops as well as the filling.

Variation: For a heartier filling with even more flavor, cook rice in 6 cups unsalted chicken broth. If you use the broth, you should still use the bay leaf and the 2 tablespoons olive oil for the water.

Note: You can click on any picture and see a slide show!

I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.