Sicilian Stuffed Tomatoes Recipes

ITALIAN STUFFED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato. Leaving a 1/2-in. thick shell, scoop out the pulp; chop pulp and set aside. Invert the tomatoes onto paper towels to drain. , Meanwhile, cook sausage, onion and garlic in a skillet until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Add tomato pulp, zucchini, basil, oregano, vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in rice, provolone, 3 tablespoons Parmesan and parsley; spoon about 2/3 cup into each tomato. , Place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan on top. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until the tomatoes are heated through.

SICILIAN ROAST STUFFED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450F
• Prick the skin of the eggplants and place on rack in the upper half of the oven and roast 20 minutes
• Remove the eggplant and cool 10 minutes to handle
• Heat EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat
• Add the onions, garlic, celery and cubanelle peppers, and let them cook while you cut up the eggplant
• Split the eggplants in half lengthwise and cut away the meat from the inside, keeping a little edge to the skins for stability
• Place the eggplant halves on a baking sheet then coarsely chop the eggplant and add it to the veggies in the skillet
• Add the roasted red peppers and season everything with salt and pepper
• Cook 5 minutes then add nuts, capers and olives
• Drain the tomatoes in a colander over a bowl and stir them up with a wooden spoon to coarsely crush them
• Add the tomatoes to the skillet and a few spoonfuls of the sauce just to moisten the veggies
• Wilt the basil into the vegetables, then fill the eggplant halves with the veggie mixture
• Top with sliced mozzarella and place the halves back in the oven 10 minutes to melt the cheese and set the filling
• Serve a stuffed half eggplant per person with crusty bread for mopping alongside

SICILIAN STUFFED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking dish large enough to accommodate all of the tomatoes. Cut off the top fourth of the tomatoes, and reserve the tops. Place a strainer over a bowl, and gently scoop or squeeze out the seeds without breaking the tomatoes. Rub the seed pockets against the strainer to extract juice. Discard the seeds. Using a grapefruit spoon, scoop out as much of the tomato pulp from inside the skins as you can, but don't break the skins. Chop the pulp, and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onion. Cook 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until tender and beginning to color. Add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the anchovies, parsley, capers, olives, bread crumbs and tomato pulp. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir for about two minutes until fragrant and well amalgamated. Moisten as desired with the strained juice. Fill the tomatoes with this mixture and place them in the baking dish. Return the tops. Brush with the remaining olive oil.
• Place in the oven, and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the skins begin to wrinkle. The tomatoes should be soft but not mushy. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

BRENDA'S REAL SICILIAN STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

Steps:

• Wash and slice off the top of the peppers, making a cap. Reserve tops. Remove internal membranes and seeds.
• Place peppers, open side up in medium roaster or deep baking dish. There must be room for the rest of the ingredients.
• Blend gently with a fork, meat, egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, green onions, 1/2 of the salt and 1/2 of the pepper or to taste.
• In bottom of pepper, place a piece of mozzarella and a few pieces of onion.
• Stuff the peppers with meat mixture and replace cap on each.
• Note: if you have extra meat you can roll them into little meat balls to place on top of peppers.
• Sprinkle the rest of the onion, potatoes, garlic, olives, mushrooms, on top of peppers. (also extra meatballs if you have any.).
• Spoon tomatoes, with thier juice, over it all.
• Season top with basil and remaining salt and pepper or to taste.
• Cover and place in 350 F oven for 45 minutes.
• Uncover and bake for another 45 minutes, keeping an eye on the liquid. You may have to add a little water if it appears to be too dry.
• Try to move the veggies away from the edges once in a while so that they don't stick to the sides.
• Plate and serve with a crusty bread.

SCACCE RAGUSANE (SICILIAN STUFFED FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• Pour 1/3 cup warm water into a mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast over the top. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes to make sure yeast is active.
• Add olive oil, semolina flour, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix with your hand to form a relatively stiff ball of dough, adding more water if needed to bring the dough together.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with the mixing bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and knead the dough for another 3 or 4 minutes; divide dough into 2 portions, and shape each into smooth balls. Use damp hands to help smooth the dough out, if needed.
• Generously dust half of a kitchen towel with semolina flour and place the 2 balls of dough on top. Sprinkle more flour on top of the balls and cover with the other half of the towel. Leave to rise until the dough has almost doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil and sprinkle with cornmeal.
• Roll each ball of dough out into a very thin circle or oval shape on a lightly floured surface.
• Combine pizza sauce and basil in a bowl. Spread with a thin layer of sauce and scatter pieces of provolone cheese every few inches, leaving a 1 inch border. Fold over the opposite edges toward the middle to form a rectangle. Press lightly to flatten slightly. Repeat sauce and cheese step.
• Fold each end toward the center to make a square shape. Spread with a thin layer of sauce and scatter pieces of cheese on just one half. Fold in half, overlapping the edge by about 1 inch. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat filling and folding the second piece of dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until very well browned, 16 to 18 minutes. Some spots may get charred, but this is fine and desirable, since scacce are traditionally cooked in very hot wood-fired ovens. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

SICILIAN STUFFED EGGPLANT: MELANZANE AMMUTTUNATE

Steps:

• Make the stuffing: Combine the garlic, mozzarella, Parmigiano together in a medium bowl. Chop a few leaves of mint and add to the mixture. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until the mixture is moist. Mix together. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Wash the eggplants and trim off the end near the stems. Cut the eggplants in half and place flesh side down on a work surface. Use a small knife to make numerous incisions in the skin. I usually make around 10 incisions all over the skin of each eggplant half - approximately 1 inch deep. Stuff each hole with the mixture (fingers work best here). Be sure to push deep into the incision so the stuffing does not come out. (You may have extra filling which can be reserved for another use.) Pour a bit of flour on a flat plate. Dip the flesh side of the eggplant in the flour to coat. Set the eggplant aside.
• Prepare the sauce: Saute the onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet or pan large enough to hold all the eggplant halves. When soft, add the chopped tomatoes and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and a few leaves of basil. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes.
• In a large frying pan, add a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the eggplant halves, flesh /flour side down, and fry until brown, about 5 minutes. Once brown, add the eggplant halves to the prepared sauce. When all the eggplant is added to the sauce, cover and allow to simmer over low heat until soft - about 25-20 minutes. (I like to turn the eggplants occasionally as they are cooking.) Once the eggplants are soft and tender, remove to a serving dish and spoon the sauce on top. Serve with plenty of Parmigiano and crusty bread for dipping. Buon appetito!

BAKED STUFFED TOMATOES

Steps:

• To prepare the stuffed tomatoes first wash the tomatoes, cut off the top and set aside 1 . With a small knife, cut the inner perimeter of the tomato and dig out the pulp with a teaspoon, collecting it in a bowl 2 . Pour the pulp into a mixer 3 .
• Blend the pulp to obtain a juice 4 . Place the tomatoes on a grill, salt them 5 and then turn them over to drain 6 .
• Now make the sauce: in a pan, heat the olive oil with garlic 7 , then, when the oil is seasoned, remove the garlic 8 and pour in the pulp 9 . Cook for 20 minutes over medium heat to reduce.
• In the meantime, cook the rice in boiling water 10 . When the pulp is almost cooked, add salt and pepper 11 . Chop the parsley and basil (well washed and dried) 12 .
• Remove the pan with the pulp from the heat once cooked, and flavor with chopped herbs 13 . Pour the resulting sauce into a bowl, add the rice 14 and season with grated Grana Padano cheese and Pecorino cheese 15 .
• Mix and set the filling aside 16 . Dice the scamorza cheese 17 and stuff the tomatoes, starting with a couple of tablespoons of rice 18 .
• Add 2 or 3 cubes of scamorza cheese, and fill up to and a little over the edge with another spoonful of rice 19 . The tomatoes are now ready to be cooked 20 . Place the caps on another baking tray 21 and cook them together with the stuffed tomatoes in a static oven preheated to 355° F (180° C) for about 50 minutes.
• When cooked, the stuffed tomatoes will be golden brown on the surface 22 , take them out of the oven together with the caps 23 and serve them hot together, garnished with basil leaves 24 !