Stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes ready for the oven.

Tomates farcies is a classic French late summer country dish and a staple of workers restaurant menus during the season that big tomatoes are abundant and inexpensive.

Ingredients
6 very large tomatoes
600 g minced pork*
2 tbsp uncooked rice
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Several sprigs of parsley, leaves finely chopped, stems discarded
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 egg
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method

1.  Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Wash the tomatoes, cut out the stem core and slice off the top.
3. Scoop out the seeds and flesh, taking care not to pierce the skin.
4. Sprinkle a little coarse salt on the insides of the tomatoes then stand them upside down on kitchen paper to drain for 20 minutes.
5. Using your hand, mix together the pork mince, rice, onion, garlic, parsley, a dash of olive oil, egg and salt and pepper. 
6. Fill the tomato shells with the meat mixture.
7. Put them in an oiled baking dish that they are a fairly neat fit in.
8. Sit the tomato tops back on the stuffed tomatoes.
9. Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil.
10. If you have left over stuffing, put it in an oiled ramekin and bake it with the tomatoes. You can treat it as a mini meatloaf or a terrine. You can also just form it into a pattie and cook it with the tomatoes.
11. Bake for an hour.
12. Serve with plain boiled brown rice.

*Pork mince in France is sold as chair à farci ('flesh for stuffing'). It is often mixed fifty-fifty with veal mince and/or seasoned with garlic and parsley. If it does not contain garlic and parsley it is referred to as nature ('plain').

Yum

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