Stuffed Tomatoes
I don’t think of myself as a picky eater, but there are a few things I just cannot stand the taste of. One of those is bell peppers (with one notable exception). So when our friends had us over for dinner awhile ago and they asked if we liked stuffed papers, my inclination was to say no. Of course I would’ve just eaten them if that’s what we were served (no one wants to be the difficult dinner guest!), but it was nice of them to ask. Our friends made stuffed pepper and a few stuffed tomatoes for me. It was so thoughtful and really tasty. It was a neat idea that I tucked away for tomato season. That time has arrived and I made my own version!
Let’s get to it!
Start by preheating the oven.
While that heats up you’ll cook the onions and sausage. Crumble the sausage and mix with the onions and cook over medium heat until the sausage is no longer pink. Set that aside.
Now prep the tomatoes. Slice the top off revealing the meat. Take your knife and cut around the inside of the tomato, being careful not to pierce the walls or cut through the bottom.
With a spoon, scoop the meat out and scrape any seeds stuck to the inside walls of the tomato. Discard or keep the tomato for another use (I added mine to tomato soup). I don’t recommend heirloom tomatoes for this recipe. While they are tasty, they are often odd-shaped and dense inside. This makes them difficult to clean out for stuffing.
Now you’ll make the filling. Put the cooked sausage and onions into a large bowl. Add the cooked rice, basil, and cottage cheese.
Give it a taste to see if it needs salt. Add salt if it’s needed and now mix in the egg. Scoop the stuffing into the tomatoes press down to pack it in.
Put the stuffed tomatoes in a 9″ by 13″ pan and cook in the oven for about twenty minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and the filling has puffed up a bit.
Take them out of the oven and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Cook another five minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
Let the tomatoes sit for ten minutes to firm up and then serve. This will make three to six main dish servings depending on appetites. The rice softens and melded with the sausage and juices form the tomato, it tastes like a risotto.
Enjoy!
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Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- 1 egg
- 6 large tomatoes
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Crumble the sausage and add the onions and cook over medium heat until the sausage is no longer pink. Set aside.
- Slice the top off revealing the meat. Take your knife and cut around the inside of the tomato, being careful not to pierce the walls or cut through the bottom. Scoop that meat out and scrape any seeds stuck to the inside walls of the tomato.
- Put the cooked sausage and onions into a large bowl. Add the cooked rice, basil, and cottage cheese. Add salt if it's needed and mix in the egg.
- Scoop the stuffing into the tomatoes press down to pack it in.
- Put the stuffed tomatoes in a 9"by 13" pan and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and the filling has puffed up.
- Take out of the oven and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Cook another 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Let the tomatoes sit for 10 minutes and serve.
- This will make three to six main dish servings depending on appetites.