Do you remember me mentioning stuffed tomatoes a while back when I had done my paleo trial? Vaguely? No? Well, let me refresh your memory...
On the hunt for low-carb recipes I had tried to make stuffed tomatoes, something my mother often did in the summer when I was little. So a few weeks ago, before it was too late to get decent tomatoes I thought I'd take some pictures in the view to share the recipe with you.
It's nothing fancy I suppose but it hits the spot: it's filling, warm and juicy not to mention healthy, of course...
Now I used chicken because that's all I can cope with meat-wise. I was vegetarian for a long time and then understanding the impact of protein and carbohydrate on our metabolism literally forced me to put meat back on the menu. I'd like to eat other meats but I don't think I can, at least not now. I cried the first time I ate chicken... My mum's recipe used sausage meat and lardons (bacon), hence why I've added feta and smoked paprika. I'm sure you could use minced beef too.
Ingredients:
- 4 beef tomatoes
- 400g or so of boneless chicken
- 1 + 1 cloves of garlic
- 1 egg
- 100 feta in small cubes
- 2 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1 tsp of hot chilli powder
- 2 tbsp of parmesan
- 1 big handful of fresh herbs, I used a combination of parsley and basil
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- dried oregano and thyme
Method:
Cut the top of each tomato. Core and season them all. Turn them upside down in an oven-proof dish while you make the rest.
Finely chop your onion and one clove of garlic, place in a saucepan with a glug of olive oil and the dried herb and saute until soft. Add your chopped tomatoes, season to taste (I sometimes add a tiny bit of ketchup to balance the acidity but don't tell anyone) and simmer until you have a nice sauce - not too thick as it's going in the oven later on and you don't want to end up with jam.
Now place your chicken, herbs, egg, paprika, chilli powder, parmesan and garlic in the food processor and blitz. Season (not too much salt but a decent amount of pepper), add the feta and mix to distribute the cubes evenly.
Stuff your tomatoes, place their tops (or hats as we used to call them) back on. Pour the tomato sauce all around and drizzle some olive oil on top of the dish before placing it in the preheated oven (180 degrees) for 30 to 40 min until piping hot.
Serve with a generous amount of greens and feel secure in the knowledge that it's not just your stomach and taste-buds that are happy, so is your entire body.
