Stuffed Tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 375u0b0 F
2. Select a baking dish with a 1" rim large enough to hold the tomatoes.
3. Spread approximately 1/2 cup of rice on the bottom of the dish. Drizzle with a tsp of olive oil
4. With a sharp knife, remove the stem part of each tomato, then slice off the top part of each tomato, approximately 1/2 inch in thickness. Put aside.
5. With a spoon or a knife, remove the fleshy inside of the tomatoes, discarding the seeds. Cut up the flesh in small pieces and set aside in a bowl. Place each tomato on top of the rice in the dish.
6. In a large bowl, place the sausage meat, the remaining cooked rice, parsley and thyme and approximately half of the cut-up flesh. Mix well by hand.
7. Fill each tomato loosely with enough meat mixture to slightly reach over the edge. Place the reserved sliced top on each tomato. 8. In the hole where the stem was, place a sprig each of thyme and rosemary. Lightly sprinkle with salt and black pepper, if desired. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on top of each stuffed tomato.
Bake for 45 minutes to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the tomatoes. Serve hot or cold.
The juice in the baking dish is delicious sopped up with French or Italian style bread.
* Note: you can substitute ready-made sausage meat with your own mix of ground meat such as 3/4 lb of minced pork and 3/4 lb minced veal; season to your taste with salt, pepper, minced garlic, fresh minced rosemary, fresh minced thyme, dry oregano, for example.