Though not vegetarian, this is based on a recipe from British foodwriter, Simon Hopkinson's book The Vegetarian Option.
Ingredients
| 4 Tbsp | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 3 cloves | Garlic, finely chopped |
| 1 sprig | Thyme, large |
| 1 | Small onion, finely chopped |
| 1 small | Carrot, finely diced |
| 2 | Chorizo sausages, diced 1cm (Main) |
| 1 tsp | Sweet smoked Spanish paprika |
| 75 g | Risotto rice, or paella rice (Main) |
| 8 large | Tomatoes, firm and ripe, tops sliced off about ¼ of the way down the tomato so you can have caps, insides scooped out with a teaspoon (reserve the pulp, cores and seeds) (Main) |
| 250 ml | Chicken stock |
| 300 g | Green beans (Main) |
| 1 Tbsp | Parsley, coarsley chopped |
Directions
- Heat the oven to 200C.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan over moderate heat and add the garlic, thyme, onion, carrot and chorizos. Stir-fry gently, without browning for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, discard the thyme and add the paprika and rice. Season and mix well.
- Place the tomatoes side by side, cut sides up, in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the rice mixture into each tomato and replace the caps on top of each (cram it in but don't break the tomatoes).
- Strain the pulp, cores and seeds from the tomatoes and pour 150ml of the juice around the stuffed tomatoes. Pour the chicken stock around the tomatoes.
- Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the tops of the tomatoes. Place in the oven and bake 1 hour or until the rice is tender (it will be firm to the bite) and the tomatoes well browned. Baste occasionally as they cook.
- Meanwhile drop the beans into a saucepan of boiling salted water and boil gently for 3 minutes. Drain well.
- Serve the tomatoes and their juices, sprinkled with the parsley, with the beans on the side.