Stuffed Tomatoes

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 12 medium ripe but firm tomatoes
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fennel seed, preferably freshly ground or crushed in a mortar
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium potato, scrubbed,halved crosswise and each half quartered

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375 degrees f.
• 2 cut off the top 1/2 inch of each tomato; set aside the tops.
• 3 using a grapefruit spoon, very carefully remove as much pulp as possible from each tomato, without piercing the skin.
• 4 chop the pulp.
• 5 measure out 2 1/2 cups.
• 6 discard the rest.
• 7 in a large skillet, heat 2/3 cup of the oil and saute the onions and fennel bulb over medium heatfor 5 minutes, or until soft.
• 8 add the fennel seeds and rice and saute, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes.
• 9 add 2 cups of the tomato pulp, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes more.
• 10 stir in the parsley, dill, and mint and cook for 2 minutes more.
• 11 remove from the heat and add the salt and plenty of pepper.
• 12 stuff the tomatoes with the rice mixture, leaving a little room for the stuffing to expand, and cover with the tomato tops.
• 13 place the tomatoes in a large 13x9 inch baking dish and arrange the potato pieces in the gaps between the tomatoes.
• 14 pour the remaining 1/2 cup tomato pulp over everything and drizzle the tomatoes with the remaining 12 cup oil.
• 15 sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
• 16 bake for 1 hour, or until the rice is tender (life the cover of a tomato and check).
• 17 turn off the oven and let stand in the over for 10 minutes, then let cool to room temperature.