table talk / By Simona Carini

Pomodori col Riso — What to do with those gorgeous tomatoes

(Aug. 30, 2007) 

The rich selection of tomatoes offered these days at the local Farmers’ Market set in motion a walk down memory lane that took me back to a summertime meal featuring pomodori col riso (rice-stuffed tomatoes), one of my mother’s signature dishes. Part of its allure can be attributed to the fact that it is a baked dish. When I was growing up, the turning on of the oven by my mother was always a harbinger of delicacies to come. As mentioned in a previous column (“Table Talk,” March 1), my mother uses her oven only rarely for its intended function (in between it moonlights as storage space for a number of lids). But enough on my mother. On to the tomatoes.

Tomatoes and potatoes prior to baking. Photo by Simona Carini.

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And tomatoes are clearly the protagonists of pomodori col riso. I recommend starting with four of them. Multiply the recipe as needed. Choose tomatoes that are meaty, ripe, firm, round and of comparable size, each weighing 1/2 lb. or so. Making the dish takes four steps: preparing the tomatoes, preparing the stuffing, preparing the potatoes and putting it all together.

Wash the tomatoes and cut a 1/2-inch slice off the top. Keep the top close to the tomato from which it was separated, since later on they will be reunited. Using a melon-baller, carve out the pulp, leaving the tomato shell intact. Work over a bowl to collect the pulp, juice and seeds. My mother uses a food mill to purée the tomato pulp and separate the seeds for removal. I don’t have a food mill, so I use the food processor to purée, then a 7-inch strainer to separate the seeds. This step takes a bit of patience: Using a wooden spoon, I stir the pulp and at the same time push it through the mesh. Regardless of the method, the seeds and bit of pulp that are left behind are discarded at the end.

Add the following ingredients to the puréed tomato pulp: one tablespoon of parboiled rice and half a teaspoon of olive oil for each tomato, a quarter cup of chopped fresh parsley, 5-6 shredded leaves of basil, one big or two small cloves of finely minced garlic, salt to taste and a sprinkling of freshly-ground black pepper. Stir well and set aside. The seasoned tomato pulp smells delicious, which is an advance on the reward the final dish will bestow upon you.

A word about the rice. Parboiled (a.k.a. converted) rice is steamed under pressure before being husked. In the process, the grains absorb the husk’s water-soluble nutrients. When cooked, parboiled rice is firmer and less clingy than white rice, characteristics that make it a good choice for pomodori col riso . Before making this dish, I had never looked for parboiled rice in a grocery store. Thanks to my friend Christine, I found Uncle Ben’s. I use the long grain variety.

Considering that potatoes are the third main ingredient, one would expect the name of the dish to recognize their presence. But I guess that would make for a long name. In any case, the potatoes are there, a pound or so of the baking kind (that usually means two potatoes). Peel them and cut them into pieces. I quarter each potato lengthwise, then cut each piece into 1/4-inch-thick slices. The resulting pieces are relatively small and easier to stir when they are in the baking pan, around the tomatoes. Put the slices in a bowl, sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste, then turn them with a spoon. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with olive oil and place the un-stuffed tomatoes in it. Use the seasoned tomato purée with rice to fill the hollowed-out tomatoes. Since the rice tends to sink, stir the mixture each time before lifting up the tablespoon. If you forecast that you will end up with extra stuffing, make sure you allocate all the rice and save the leftover liquid. Cover each tomato with its top. If you lost track of the correct pairing, don’t worry — the tomatoes won’t complain about mismatched hats.

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