Culinary Explorer
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Pomodori Ripieni al Riso
Created by Chef Graziella
The stuffed tomatoes of Rome, where rice absorbs every drop of tomato essence as it bakes, the tops caramelizing into something that needs no embellishment and tolerates none.
In Rome, when August arrives and the tomatoes at Campo de' Fiori are so ripe they threaten to split, this is what the home cooks make. It is not complicated. It cannot be. The tomato does the work. The rice absorbs the juices. The oven provides the heat. Your job is to stay out of the way.
The rice goes in raw. This surprises Americans, who want to cook everything before it enters the oven. But the rice must drink the tomato liquid as it bakes. If you precook it, you have defeated the purpose. You will have rice inside a tomato rather than rice that has become one with the tomato. These are not the same thing.
Roman cooks have made these for generations, setting them out at room temperature alongside grilled lamb or roasted chicken. They are better this way than hot from the oven. The flavors settle. The rice firms. What was merely good becomes correct.
Ingredients
large round tomatoes
Quantity
6 (about 3 pounds)
ripe but still firm
Arborio or Carnaroli rice
Quantity
1 cup
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
minced fine
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large round tomatoesripe but still firm | 6 (about 3 pounds) |
| Arborio or Carnaroli rice | 1 cup |
| garlic clovesminced fine | 2 |
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