This is one of my favorite summer dishes. It is much enhanced by the use of home grown tomatoes, but supermarket brands will work equally well. They should be large, at least 3 1/2 inches in diameter, otherwise, stuffing them is a time consuming and onerous task which results in not much to eat.
- 6 very large ripe tomatoes
- 6 tablespoons of sugar
- 1/4 cup olive oil or butter melted
- 1/2-3/4 cup rice, preferably Arborio
- 1/2 cup raisins or currants
- 1/2 cup almonds or pine nuts
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup parsley
- Pinch of cinamon
- Peeled and quartered potatoes
Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes and set aside, keeping the caps intact. Sprinkle l tablespoon of sugar in each tomato and let sit until the sugar dissolves.
Prepare the filling by sauteing the ingredients in the oil until the nuts are brown and the onion is softened. Add a little tomato pulp as you go along to help the rice to soften. When the rice is pliable, sprinkle everything with salt and cinamon and fill the tomatoes.
Set the tomatoes in an oven proof dish and put a cap on top of each one, then arrange the peeled potates around them, dribble the tomato pulp around them and pour olive oil over all.
Bake 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees.