NGREDIENTS
6 large tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, 1 small carrot, 1 red bell pepper (finely chopped)
150g brown rice
1 tsp tomato purée
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp chopped dill
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1 lemon zest
INSTRUCTIONS:
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and, using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the soft pulp and seeds and transfer to a bowl. Put the tomato shells into a baking dish or roasting tin that's large enough to hold all the tomatoes upright. Set aside with the tops of the tomatoes until ready to bake.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan set over a low heat. Add the onion, carrot & bell pepper and stir fry for 7-10 minutes until softened (but not brown). Roughly chop any larger pieces of reserved tomato pulp, then add to the pan with rice, tomato purée and 100ml boiled water. Season well with salt and pepper.
Bring the mixture to the boil and continue to cook for 12-14 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is almost cooked but still al dente. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped flat-leaf parsley, dill, mint and grated lemon zest.
Fill the prepared tomato shells with the rice mixture and return the tops.
Drizzle with the remaining oil, cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until the rice is tender. Serve warm from the oven or at room temperature.
