Black rice-stuffed tomatoes with mixed salad, ready to be eaten. (Photo courtesy of Petty Elliott)
The tomato is interesting in that it’s widely thought of as a vegetable but is actually a fruit. It is a member of the nightshade family along with chilies, paprika and eggplants, which were originally from South America before being brought to Europe by the Spanish. Today, tomatoes are very important ingredients in Mediterranean cookery especially in Italian and Spanish cuisine.
We can buy many varieties of tomatoes from tiny cherry tomatoes to large beefsteak ones which have a sweet, gently tangy flavor.
The best tomatoes are those that have been allowed to ripen on the vine before harvesting. If you buy under-ripe tomatoes, you can ripen them by keeping them at room temperature for a few days.
The beauty with tomatoes is their versatility. We can eat them raw or cooked and can make tomato juice, stew, soup, sauce, sambal, salsa and salad.
They are also very simple to cook. Simply roast the whole tomato for 15-20 minutes depending on size, or halve and grill, pan-fry or stir fry. For grilled tomatoes, it is important to season the tomatoes with salt and freshly ground black pepper or add some herbs such as thyme and basil. To make sambal terasi, roasted tomatoes or pan-fried tomatoes have a better taste than raw fresh tomatoes.
For this week’s recipe I have black rice stuffed tomatoes with mixed salad. The rice is pre-cooked with added garlic, shallots, and chilies, as if you were preparing a nasi goreng.
To give texture and flavor I add chopped raw carrots and also chopped kemangi or local basil. Enjoy!
Black rice–stuffed tomatoes with mixed salad
This dish is inspired by the familiar Mediterranean dish of stuffed tomatoes. It can be enjoyed on its own or with a small portion of salad. The black rice gives the dish a delicious nutty flavor. Serves 4.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons or around 70g of black rice, 200ml water.
4 large beefsteak tomatoes, red, ripe but firm, 50gr shallots, peeled and sliced thinly, 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed and chopped finely, 100gr breast chicken, chopped into small squares; 1 small spring onion, chopped finely, small bunch of kemangi or local basil, chopped finely; 1-2 long curly chilies, sliced finely (optional); 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
For the mixed salad: Small iceberg lettuce, 1 small yellow paprika, roasted; 1 carrot, finely grated; 1 medium beetroot, peeled and finely grated; mint leaves.
For the dressing: 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 1 tablespoon of honey; salt and black pepper to taste.
Simply mix all the ingredients well and it’s ready to serve.
Directions:
1. Rinse the rice and place in a small pan. Add water and cook over medium heat until all the water has evaporated. Cover the pan and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
3. Trim off about 1 cm from the top of each tomato. Use a teaspoon to remove the seeds and juice, leaving a clean tomato shell.
4. Season with salt and black pepper the inside of the tomatoes and place upside-down in a colander, to drain off some juice.
5. Heat a frying pan, add two tablespoons of oil, the shallots and garlic and saute for 4 minutes or until soft.
6. Add the chicken and cook for around 2-3 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, carrots, spring onion and kemangi. Season with salt and black pepper.
8. Wipe the inside of tomatoes with kitchen towel, and then fill around 2 tablespoons with the rice stuffing, pressing down very gently.
9. Place the tomatoes in a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and bake for around 15 minutes or until the tomatoes soften.
10.Place small portion of mixed cold salad on each of four serving plates, add one hot or warm tomato stuffing for each plate and drizzle with the dressing.
Serve immediately.
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