Stuffed tomatoes with a difference - The Best from Greece

Posted on: 26/Oct/2011 Delicious, new takes on ‘domates gemistes’

 Delicious, new takes on ‘domates gemistes’

Rice, olive oil, fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint, basil and, of course, ripe, bright red tomatoes are the basic ingredients you’ll need to serve up the quintessential Greek summer meal,  juicy stuffed tomatoes, or “domates gemistes.”
While some add a little cheese to the mix, or play with other herbs, a few enterprising cooks have done something more to renew our interest in this traditional dish that has changed little over the years.
Chef Alexandros Yiotis advises that when buying tomatoes, you should look for ones with shiny, firm flesh and taut skin. The stalk should have a leafy, tomato aroma. Keep them in the fruit bowl rather than in the refrigerator, unless they are over-ripe. Marks on the skin aren’t a problem if the tomatoes are to be skinned. They ripen faster if kept in paper bags, particularly if you put a banana in there with them.
And don’t forget that tomatoes are good for you. In traditional medicine, they are said to help relieve rheumatic pain, arthritis, kidney ailments, constipation, problems with the nervous system, improve eyesight and in preventing lung, stomach and prostate cancer. 
Planting tomatoes in the garden or on the balcony helps repel mosquitoes and wasps.
And for the diet conscious -- 100 grams of tomatoes contain 17 calories, 0.2 gr fats, 2.8 gr carbohydrates, 21 mg of vitamin C and 290 mg of potassium.

RECIPES

Rice stuffed with tomatoes

Ingredients (serves 4-6)
For the rice
1 onion, grated
2 cups Carolina rice
2 tbsp olive oil plus a little more to grease the baking dish
3 cups tomato juice, mixed with one cup water
1/2 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup kefalotyri cheese, grated
1 egg, preferably organic
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the stuffing
6 ripe tomatoes, but not over-ripe
1 cup pine nuts, toasted in a dry nonstick pan 
1/2 cup raisins
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp brown sugar

Stuffing:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Using a sharp knife, make a shallow cut in the bottom of each tomato and plunge them into boiling water for half a minute.
Remove with a slotted spoon and skin them. Cut them into thin slices and lay them on greaseproof paper on a baking tray. 
Brush them with oil and sprinkle with the sugar. Transfer the tray to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Set aside.
Rice:
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the rice and stir two or three times with a wooden spoon to saute it for about a minute.
Add the diluted tomato juice and season.
Bring the rice to the boil over a moderate heat until all the liquid has been absorbed, for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and add the mint, herbs, egg and kefalotyri and stir well.
To stuff the rice:
Lightly grease a round, medium-sized spring form baking dish and spread two-thirds of the rice mixture on the bottom, spreading evenly up the sides as well as far as possible. 
Lay the tomatoes on top of the rice, leaving some space around the circumference and sprinkle them with the raisins and pine nuts. 
Cover with the rest of the rice so that the surface is flat and cover with greaseproof paper. Bake for 20 minutes at 200C. 
Turn out carefully onto a large round platter and cut into triangular slices to serve.
Dina Nikolaou


Stuffed tomato pie

Ingredients (serves 4-5)
10 medium-sized tomatoes, cut in medium-sized rounds
1 kg onions, grated roughly
200 gr Carolina rice
1 cup olive oil
Leaves of half a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
50 gr pine nuts
1 heaped tbsp ground rusk, or breadcrumbs
2 tbsp black raisins
Salt and pepper
1 packet “kourou” pastry
1 lightly beaten egg yolk

Put the grated onion in a colander and, using your hands, rub with rock salt to remove the tartness.
Rinse, let drain and then put in a frying pan with the oil and pine nuts. Saute over a medium heat until the onion is transparent – about 8-10 minutes.
Add the rice, parsley, raisin and season. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Grease a rectangular baking dish about the size of the pastry sheets. Lay one layer of pastry in the dish and sprinkle with the ground rusk. Place half the tomato slices on it and cover with half the rice mixture.
Place the rest of the tomato slices on top of that and cover with the second layer of pastry, tucking the edges under the first layer as much as possible. 
Brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg yolk and bake for about an hour and 10 minutes.
Niki Chrysanthou-Parliarou

 

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