Recipes

Before summer ends, we urge you to stuff a tomato! 

It’s the perfect late summer meal, as tomatoes are still prolific and the dish is cozy enough to temper the evening’s chill. While the seasoning for the filling is flexible, we particularly love the marriage of saffron and fennel—especially when paired with our smoked mussels. We serve the stuffed tomatoes on a puddle of tangy yogurt, and finish the dish with a generous spoonful of brown butter; both adding a complimentary richness to the sweet, acidic nature of tomatoes.

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to bake the tomatoes

½ large red onion, thinly sliced

1 scant teaspoon saffron threads

½ teaspoon fennel seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle

½ teaspoon turmeric

Fine sea salt to season

¾ cup long grain white rice

1 tin Ekone Smoked Mussels, drained and roughly chopped

1 handful basil leaves, finely chopped, plus a few sprigs for garnish

4 medium tomatoes

¼ cup brown butter, melted

Full fat Greek yogurt, to serve

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Add the olive oil, red onion, saffron, fennel, and turmeric to a large frying pan set over medium-low heat. Season with a pinch of salt and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened, 5-8 minutes. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat in the golden onions. Add a cup of water to the pan, stir to incorporate, and allow the water to simmer voraciously until the rice begins to look thirsty again. Add another cup of water, and repeat this process - allowing the water to simmer while stirring the rice occasionally to prevent it from sticking. Repeat once more with another ½ cup of water. Once the rice has absorbed most of the last addition of water, season generously with salt. Taste the rice - it should be well seasoned, taste richly of saffron, and should still have an al dente bite to it. Fold in the chopped mussels and basil, and gently stir to incorporate. Set aside while you prepare the tomatoes.

Cut the top fifth off of each tomato, and reserve the top. Using a large spoon, scoop out about ⅔ of the flesh of the tomato - essentially creating a cavern to fill with the seasoned rice mixture. You can use the scooped out flesh for making tomato sauce.

Line a quarter sheet tray with parchment paper. Place the hollowed out tomatoes cut side up on the sheet tray, and fill each tomato with the rice mixture. Don’t pack the rice filling in too tight, as the rice will continue to expand as it finishes cooking inside of the tomato. Top each tomato with its reserved top hat. Drizzle each tomato in a glug of olive oil, and season each one with a pinch of salt.

Recipe by our friend Vilda Gonzalez!