Stuffed Lamb Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 4 large Tomatoes
• Pinch Sugar
• 4 tbs Olive Oil
• 1 chopped Onion
• 2 finely chopped Garlic Clove
• 200g Lamb
• 1 tbs Cinnamon
• 2 tbs chopped Tomato Puree
• 50g Rice
• 100ml Chicken Stock
• 4 tbs Dill
• 2 tbs Chopped Parsley
• 1 tbs Mint

Quantities are the original recipe’s. The cost is our own estimate — typical own-brand supermarket prices for these quantities, divided by 4 servings. TheMealDB does not state how many a dish serves, so 4 is our assumption, not theirs. Treat it as “about this much a head”, not a shopping bill.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
2. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and set them aside as lids. Hollow out the insides with a teaspoon, taking care not to pierce the skins, then chop the flesh finely, keeping any juice.
3. Dust the inside of each tomato shell with a little sugar to soften the acidity, then stand them in a baking dish.
4. Warm 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion and garlic over a low heat for around 10 minutes, until soft but not browned.
5. Add the lamb, cinnamon and tomato puree, raise the heat and fry until the meat has coloured.
6. Stir in the chopped tomato flesh and its juice, along with the rice and stock. Season well, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and the liquid has gone.
7. Let the filling cool slightly before folding through the dill, parsley and mint.
8. Pack the mixture into the tomato shells right up to the top and replace the lids.
9. Trickle the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil over the tomatoes and splash 3 tbsp water into the dish.
10. Bake for 35 minutes, then serve warm or cold with salad and crusty bread.

These steps were written by StreetOwl from the original recipe, in British English, with every oven temperature and cooking time checked against the source. They are not the original author’s words. If anything reads oddly, the original is linked below and it wins.