My take on Jacque Pepin's stuffed tomatoes. It's a simple recipe with multiple variations as you go along the Mediterranean. The first time I had stuffed tomatoes was at a small laid-back island in Greece. The dish says "home food" the moment you see it. That's how Pepin described it too - "like your mother used to make it"- that is if you are french, and spent your childhood in rural France. :) I guess the difference between the Greek and the French version would be the stuffing - pilaf in case of the Greek Gemista, and bread in case of Pepin's recipe.
In either case, the recipe is simple, quick and very customizable. You can suit is to your taste and to the ingredients you like best.
Here's what you need -
4 large tomatoes
4 spring (green) onions (chopped, 4 inch onion, 3 inch greens)
2 eggs
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1/2 cup pilaf (cooked)
4 oz paneer (hard cottage cheese)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Cooking -
1) Slice the top off the tomatoes and scoop the insides out with a sharp edged spoon
2) Puree the contents and add garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt to taste.
3) Pour the puree in a baking pan and add water (approx 1/4 cup) so that the consistency is watery. Make sure the pan is just wide enough to keep the puree to a 1/4th of an inch depth.
4) Sprinkle crushed black pepper and chopped cilantro as seasoning if you wish. You will place the tomatoes in this dish and bake.
5) To prepare the stuffing, dice the paneer into quarter inch pieces and saute them in butter on medium heat till they turn golden brown
6) Add the garlic and fry for a minute.
7) Take off the heat and add the cooked (and cooled) pilaf, the green onions and the eggs. Add some chopped cilantro and mix well.
8) Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture. in case you end up with some extra, you can stuff green peppers or more tomatoes. You can top with bread crumbs.
9) Pre-heat the oven to 400 F, place the tomatoes on the tray with puree and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, till the tomatoes look slighty browned.
Your piping hot stuffed tomatoes (or peppers) are ready. I like how versatile this dish is. I personally like pilaf, but you can go with chopped and soaked bread if you like more of a casserole like bite. Left overs can be mixed into the stuffing instead of the paneer, or you can put in various meats or veggies if you like. I've had this recipe with chopped cooked sausages, and that tastes as good. Depending on your tomato, the sauce may turn out to be very tangy, so you may want to reduce the acidity by adding cream to it. There are truly so many variations that you can try.
Unlike usual Indian cooking, where poaching or sauteing is the norm, this way you can make a rice pulao kind of a dish by baking, which makes it very exotic! The trick, though, is that you have to make the flavors work according to your taste - the technique in the dish is simple. When I cooked it for a party, I dont think many of my guests liked the tang because of the very muted appreciation i got! :)
Therefore I would call this dish a TRY... Try it once to find out how you would like it and then make it again and again when you know your ingredients!
In either case, the recipe is simple, quick and very customizable. You can suit is to your taste and to the ingredients you like best.
Here's what you need -
4 large tomatoes
4 spring (green) onions (chopped, 4 inch onion, 3 inch greens)
2 eggs
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1/2 cup pilaf (cooked)
4 oz paneer (hard cottage cheese)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Cooking -
1) Slice the top off the tomatoes and scoop the insides out with a sharp edged spoon
2) Puree the contents and add garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt to taste.
3) Pour the puree in a baking pan and add water (approx 1/4 cup) so that the consistency is watery. Make sure the pan is just wide enough to keep the puree to a 1/4th of an inch depth.
4) Sprinkle crushed black pepper and chopped cilantro as seasoning if you wish. You will place the tomatoes in this dish and bake.
5) To prepare the stuffing, dice the paneer into quarter inch pieces and saute them in butter on medium heat till they turn golden brown
6) Add the garlic and fry for a minute.
7) Take off the heat and add the cooked (and cooled) pilaf, the green onions and the eggs. Add some chopped cilantro and mix well.
8) Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture. in case you end up with some extra, you can stuff green peppers or more tomatoes. You can top with bread crumbs.
9) Pre-heat the oven to 400 F, place the tomatoes on the tray with puree and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, till the tomatoes look slighty browned.
Your piping hot stuffed tomatoes (or peppers) are ready. I like how versatile this dish is. I personally like pilaf, but you can go with chopped and soaked bread if you like more of a casserole like bite. Left overs can be mixed into the stuffing instead of the paneer, or you can put in various meats or veggies if you like. I've had this recipe with chopped cooked sausages, and that tastes as good. Depending on your tomato, the sauce may turn out to be very tangy, so you may want to reduce the acidity by adding cream to it. There are truly so many variations that you can try.
Unlike usual Indian cooking, where poaching or sauteing is the norm, this way you can make a rice pulao kind of a dish by baking, which makes it very exotic! The trick, though, is that you have to make the flavors work according to your taste - the technique in the dish is simple. When I cooked it for a party, I dont think many of my guests liked the tang because of the very muted appreciation i got! :)
Therefore I would call this dish a TRY... Try it once to find out how you would like it and then make it again and again when you know your ingredients!
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