Tomatoes Stuffed With Bulgur and Herbs
- 1/2 cup medium or coarse bulgur
- Salt to taste
- 6 medium-size, ripe but firm tomatoes
- 1/2 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, mint, chives, chervil and basil
- 1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup thickened yogurt or thick Greek yogurt
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- Place the bulgur in a bowl and add 1/4 teaspon salt.
- Mix together.
- Bring 1 cup water to a boil, and pour over the bulgur.
- Allow to sit for 30 minutes or until the bulgur is soft and fluffy.
- Transfer to a strainer and press out excess water.
- Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice off the tops of the tomatoes, about 3/4 inch down from the stem (or far enough down that it will be easy for you to hollow them out).
- Using a teaspoon or a grapefruit spoon, carefully scoop out the seeds, taking care not to cut through the skins.
- Place in a strainer set above a bowl.
- Rub the seed pods against the strainer to extract the juice.
- Discard the seeds.
- Carefully scoop out the pulp, and chop fine.
- Mix together the bulgur, herbs, garlic, pine nuts, the chopped tomato pulp, 1/4 cup of the strained juice and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Season the hollowed out tomatoes with salt and pepper.
- Fill each tomato with the bulgur filling (you may have some stuffing left over).
- Place in a baking dish that is small enough to fit the tomatoes snugly.
- Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over each one, and place the caps on top.
- Pour about 1/2 inch of water into the pan, and cover with foil.
- Bake 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and uncover.
- Serve warm, or allow to cool to room temperature.
- Puree the garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle.
- Stir into the yogurt, along with the mint.
- Serve the stuffed tomatoes with a dollop of the yogurt.
coarse bulgur, salt, tomatoes, fresh herbs, nuts, cinnamon, extra virgin olive oil, yogurt, garlic, fresh mint
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014008 (may not work)