Mrs Maria's stuffed tomatoes recipe

Created by Maria Benardis

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Cuisine: Greek
Prep Time: 30 min(s)
Cook Time: 1 hr(s)
Serves 4

Mrs Maria is a dear friend of my aunt Stavroula. She gave me this recipe to include in my cookbook, My Greek Family Table.

Mrs Maria was born in Kos, one of the islands in the Dodecanese. Kos is the island where the father of medicine, Hippocrates, was born. The main square where Hippocrates’ platanos tree, or plane tree, stands, where he supposedly used to teach. From July to August a special festival in Hippocrates’s honour takes place in the town.

Mrs. Maria recalls being 12 years old when World War II began. First the Italians occupied Kos. They attempted to crush Greek culture by taking away their language and their faith. They closed down the churches and the schools. The situation became much worse when the Germans came to Kos. They bombed the islands and caused a lot of destruction. Everyone on the island went hungry because there was no food.

At the age of 23, Mrs Maria came to Australia by ship. Together with her husband and four children, she hoped for a brighter future. Australia had been advertised in Greece on posters and billboards as a land of opportunity, where everyone was guaranteed work and a better life. She packed very few possessions to take to Australia, among them her cherished icons and two vases from Alexandria.

Despite being very happy in Australia, there are some things Mrs Maria still misses about Greece, and she cooks many traditional Greek dishes, such as stuffed tomatoes and lamb. She feels it’s important for her to share her recipes with non-Greek Australians to ensure they survive.

This recipe is very easy to make and uses only a few simple ingredients. I asked Mrs Maria why she does not add parsley to this dish as I do. She replied that her uncle was a chef and his rule was that parsley should not be paired with meat except when added together with finely chopped onions to souvlakia.

Ingredients

10 medium-sized tomatoes, washed
Extra virgin olive oil, for frying
1 onion, finely chopped
1 kg lean beef mince (or lamb)
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup rice
1 tbsp tomato paste
Tzatziki, to serve
Greek-style yoghurt, to serve

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Preparation

Wash the tomatoes well and then cut off the tops. Keep the tops, as they will be used as lids. Remove all the seeds and hollow out the tomatoes so that you can stuff them. Discard the tomato flesh.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet or frypan over low heat. Add the onion and beef mince. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the meat browns. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the rice and tomato paste, mixing well.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Stuff the tomatoes with the beef mixture. Place the tomato tops back on, and arrange in a baking dish so that the tops face downwards.

Add enough water to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes.

Bake in the oven at 180°C for about 1 hour or until they are cooked.

Turn off the heat and leave the tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes before serving. Remove carefully from the serving dish, using two spoons so that no stuffing escapes.

Serve with tzatziki or Greek-style yoghurt.

©2012 Maria Benardis. All Rights Reserved.

If you enjoyed this Mrs Maria's stuffed tomatoes recipe then browse more Greek recipes, rice recipes, meat recipes, baking recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.

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