Pilaf Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

½ cup brown basmati rice, uncooked

½ cup white basmati rice, uncooked + 2 pinches of turmeric

½ cup scallions, chopped 

½ tsp allspice

⅓ cup currants

½ cup pine nuts, toasted

2 heaping tbl fresh dill

1 tsp orange zest

¼ tsp fresh black pepper

6 medium tomatoes

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Directions for Pilaf:

• Soak and rinse basmati rice for 30 minutes.

• Cook rice according to instructions.

• Cook brown rice separately from white.

• Cook white rice with a few pinches of turmeric to make the rice yellow!

• Put all the cooked rice into a medium bowl. Combine and cool.

• In a small skillet, toast pine nuts before adding them into the rice.

• Add allspice, scallions, dill, pepper, and orange zest to the bowl.

• Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Directions for stuffed tomatoes:

Preheat oven 375°F.

• Cut the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds and core.
(Be sure to save everything you have scooped out!)

• Fill the tomatoes with the rice mixture so that it’s full. 

• Place in a casserole pan leaving a little space between each tomato.
Once you have stuffed all tomatoes, place their tops back on each tomato.

• Place a little water (approximately ½ inch up) in the bottom of the pan.

• Chop finely the scooped-out core and seeds and add to the bottom of the pan.

• Sprinkle some dill over the chopped pulp tomatoes.

• Cook for 30-40 minutes.

Variation: You can substitute both kinds of rice with several colors of quinoa.