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It's time to stuff tomatoes! Lidia Bastianich, who is an internationally celebrated chef, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her deviously simple recipe for Stuffed Tomatoes and Rice. Lidia says she got her inspiration while walking through some of the most fertile farmyards of California, and examining the tomato crop their. Lidia told Tonia she takes tomatoes, rice, ham or prosciutto and grated cheese, scoop out the tomatoes, and fill with the rest. Then you bake and watch the tomatoes and cheese cook together. Simple, easy, done!
4 large firm tomatoes, halved at the belly
2 cups stale 1/2-inch country bread cubes, crusts removed
2/3 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Scoop out the seeds and pulp of the tomatoes over a fine strainer making tomato shells. Press the collected seeds and pulp through the strainer and collect the juice. You should have about 3/4 cup tomato juice.
In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, 1/3 cup grated cheese, parsley, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss well.
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and set the tomato shells inside. Season the inside of the tomatoes with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Pack the tomatoes with the stuffing, making an indentation in each mound of stuffing large enough to break an egg into. Pour tomato juice in the bottom of the pan (but not on the tomatoes).
Bake for about 10 minutes to heat the filling and get the tomato juices bubbling. Uncover and carefully break an egg into each indentation. Sprinkle the eggs with the remaining 1/3 cup of grated cheese and 1 teaspoon dried oregano. Bake for about 15 minutes until the egg whites are set, but yolks are still a little runny.
