Not for soup or sauce: use ripe tomatoes for a great meatless lunch instead
When gardens still offer an abundance of homegrown produce at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, including juicy tomatoes, it's a real shame not to use them for some new, slightly different recipe.
"The gardens are full of juicy, ripe tomatoes right now, and it's a real shame not to use them in a slightly different way," says Sanja. "If we fill them with bulgur and selected garden vegetables, sprinkle with mozzarella and bake them in the oven for a while, we get a fantastic, filling and healthy dish that we can eat right out of the oven, or even chilled," she explains, adding that tomatoes prepared this way can be an excellent standalone dish, but they also go great as a side dish to meat.
This is a great idea for a meatless lunch that is easy to prepare, yet special enough to impress both vegetable lovers and meat lovers. Baked stuffed tomatoes can also be an interesting side dish to serve at home picnics as a side dish to delicious grilled delicacies.
Ingredients:
- 6 medium tomatoes - 1 zucchini - 1 carrot - 1 small onion - 2 cloves of garlic - a couple of chard leaves (optional) - 200 g bulgur - 100 g cheese (mozzarella, edamame, gorgonzola) - half a liter of vegetable soup base - half a tablespoon of butter - salt and pepper - olive oil - parsley and basil for decoration
Preparation:
Peel the onion and zucchini and cut them into small cubes, peel and grate the carrots, cut the Swiss chard into strips, and press the garlic with a press or finely chop it.
Place all the vegetables in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Slowly fry over low heat until the vegetables soften.
Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes and cut off the top to create a sort of 'cup'. Using a small spoon, scoop out the tomato flesh, chop finely and add to the vegetables in the pan. Be careful not to damage the skin when scooping out the tomatoes.
Mix the vegetables in a pan, add the bulgur and pour in the stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until the bulgur is tender. Add more stock if necessary.
Salt the inside of the hollowed-out tomatoes and turn them over in a colander to drain off excess liquid. Add the liquid to the bulgur and vegetables. Drain the tomatoes so they don't burst during baking.
When the filling is cooked, add half a tablespoon of butter and mix well. Add salt if necessary. The mixture should resemble risotto and should not be runny.
Fill the drained tomatoes with the filling and place them in a baking dish. Sprinkle the tomatoes with grated/sliced/crumbled cheese and place them in the oven, preheated to 220 degrees Celsius, for about 20 minutes.
To finish off the baked stuffed tomatoes, garnish with chopped parsley and basil leaves. Enjoy!
