Mediterranean Stuffed Tomatoes
Pantry Treasures
These easy Mediterranean stuffed tomatoes are simply bursting in fragrant summer flavors! I made a Jasmine rice salad with sautéed halloumi, black olives, red onions, Parmesan cheese and a red wine vinaigrette full of earthy herbs. Made in barely 45 minutes, it’s the perfect summer meal, super fresh and light! I toasted a piece of baguette with olive oil to have with these and served a crispy white wine for an easy but scrumptious summery meal.
I have to tell you that stuffed tomatoes is not a recipe that’s necessarily under my radar, even if I love tomatoes in almost anything. So it was a super pleasant and delicious surprise when we these got out of the oven and finally in our plates. The smell was so good! The tomatoes were the perfect mini bowls to hold the Jasmine rice with the sautéed halloumi mixed with the pulp of the tomatoes, the red onions, the black olives and the herby vinaigrette.
I made this recipe for a second time collaboration with Iberia Foods. They keep adding new products that are so full of flavor and will help you create beautiful dishes no matter how little time you have to make a meal. As I always say, it’s the little touches that make a meal exceptional.
For this recipe I used Iberia’s dried oregano, which I love because even if it’s dry, you can smell the earthy notes of oregano and the leaves are not super tiny, infusing better anything that you add it to. And one of the new products I got to use was the Extra Virgin Olive Oil Infused with Fine Herbs. This one is a must have in your pantry my friend! Not only the olive oil is enhanced with notes of thyme and laurel but you are actually saving some time by not having to add different kinds of herbs to make your dish more flavorful. I used in almost every step of the process, and of course drizzle a bit more before serving. Read on how you can make these Mediterranean Stuffed tomatoes in no time.
How to make these easy Mediterranean stuffed tomatoes
I started by cooking my Jasmine Rice, but if you have any white rice left over, that’s more than fine!
I then mixed all the ingredients for the red wine vinaigrette so everything was well infused when ready to be mixed with the other ingredients. I used Iberia’s dried oregano and Iberia’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil Infused with Fine Herbs to make the vinaigrette.
I sautéed the halloumi with Iberia’s dried oregano and Iberia’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil Infused with Fine Herbs as well.
While the cheese was resting I scooped and cleaned out the tomatoes. I left out most of the seeds and chopped the pulp to add it to the stuffing. I like how much juice and flavor the pulp adds to the actual rice salad, keeping it moist through the baking process.
Next I mixed the rice with the red onions, black olives, Parmesan and halloumi cheeses with the red wine vinaigrette and the tomato pulp. I stuffed the tomatoes and sprinkled more Parmesan, dried oregano and infused olive oil on top.
I baked the tomatoes in the same skillet I sautéed the halloumi. That remaining oil helped in keeping the tomatoes nice and juicy.
I served these with crusty warm bread that I toasted with olive oil and a crispy white wine.
Friends, this was a truly remarkable meal. I was surprised on how much I loved these stuffed tomatoes, but I’m sure the mix of all the flavors and Mediterranean infusions from the Iberia Foods products were key in making every bite more delicious than the bite before! I’m proud to be partnering once again with them to bring you wholesome and scrumptious dishes. Last year I shared my Mango Chicken Drunken Noodles and those were so delicious as well! But now it’s tomato season so go and make these soon!! Let me know how much you love them!
Mediterranean Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients
◯ 8 - 10 tomatoes on the vine
◯ Red wine vinegar - ¼ cup
◯ Iberia’s Infused Herbed Olive oil - ⅓ cup + ¼ cup, plus more to drizzle before baking and to serve
◯ Iberia’s dried oregano - 1 TBSP + 2 Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt - 1 Tsp
◯ Halloumi cheese, roughly cubbed - 1 ½ cup
◯ Fresh thyme - about 7 sprigs
◯ Jasmine rice, cooked - 1 cup
◯ Red onions, thinly sliced - 1 cup
◯ Pitted black olives - ½ cup
◯ Parmesan cheese, grounded (you can use Asiago) - about ½ cup, divided plus more to serve if desired
◯ Sea salt flakes to sprinkle on top before serving if desired
◯ Toasted bread with olive oil to serve, optional
Details
Yield:
8 to 10 medium stuffed tomatoes
Total time:
45 minutes, including rice cooking time
Active time:
15 minutes
Equipment:
large oven proof skillet or large skillet and oven proof dish
Steps
Preheat oven to 375°.
Start by cutting a thin slice off the top of each tomato. Scoop out pulp. Discard as much seeds as you can and roughly chop the pulp. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the ¼ cup of red wine vinegar, the ⅓ cup of the herbed olive oil, the tablespoon of the dried oregano and the teaspoon of salt with a hand whisk.
In a large skillet heat the ¼ cup of the herbed olive oil in medium high heat. Add the cheese and sprinkle the 2 teaspoons of dried oregano and the fresh thyme leaves. Heat until cheese is soft but not melted.
Add cooked Jasmine rice to the dressing. Add sautéed halloumi cheese, red onions, black olives, half of the Parmesan or Asiago cheese and the tomato pulp. Mix until everything is well combined.
Stuff each tomato and top with the remaining grounded Asiago cheese. Sprinkle more of the dried oregano leaves on top and drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil, pouring a thin stream through them. You should see the tomato skin wet. Top each tomato with the tops. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Drizzle a bit more of olive oil and sprinkle sea salt flakes before serving if desired. Serve immediately.
You can brush a baguette with olive oil and toast it in 350° for several minutes to serve with these Mediterranean stuffed tomatoes.
