Rice Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

The weather was quite hot and unpleasant today on the East Coast so I decided to have a cold meal for dinner. One farmer at the market this morning had a basket of huge tomatoes that were begging to be stuffed tomatoes. Since I wasn’t turning on the oven I thought putting a cold rice salad would be good, and it was.

The rice salad is very much Mediterranean inspired. I am a bit of an artichoke and caper fiend so they end up in many recipes I make up. If my husband were a fan of olives those would have been in this rice salad. A little olive oil in this salad would also have been good if you aren’t obsessive about your fat intake.

Rice Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 large beefsteak sized tomatoes
1 cup of cold cooked rice (I used short grain brown rice colored with a little turmeric)
14 ounce can of brined artichokes, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of capers
¼ teaspoon of oregano, dried
1 – 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts, optional

Directions:

Cut a large opening in the top of the tomatoes. Scoop the tomato seeds out with a spoon. Sprinkle the inside of the tomatoes with a little kosher salt and invert the tomato on a tray with a rack to allow some of the excess moisture to release.

Mix the rice salad together (rice, artichokes, capers, oregano, and vinegar). Taste the rice salad for seasoning and adjust as necessary. If you are using the pine nuts add them now and stir them into the salad.

Stuff the salad into the tomato and serve cold.

Nutritional Information (without optional ingredients):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 151.27
Calories From Fat (8%) - 11.48

Total Fat - 1.4g
Saturated Fat - 0.09g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 481.38mg
Potassium - 411.07mg
Total Carbohydrates - 34.19g
Fiber - 4.43g
Sugar - 0.02g
Protein - 4.66g

Comments:

This was a nice refreshing salad. I like the delicacy of the rice salad with the “meatiness” of the tomato flesh. Even without the olive oil this salad had plenty of flavor. It would be beautiful served on a bed of lightly dressed baby spinach leaves. Vegans and omnivores alike enjoyed these tomatoes this evening.