{"id":109,"date":"2010-09-02T18:15:15","date_gmt":"2010-09-02T22:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miancatalano.com\/?p=109"},"modified":"2010-09-04T21:56:03","modified_gmt":"2010-09-05T01:56:03","slug":"brown-rice-stuffed-tomatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/?p=109","title":{"rendered":"Stuffed Tomatoes &#038; Fresh Tomato Sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">On a hot summer day, it\u2019s nice to keep the oven off and to eat food that&#8217;s light, fresh, and maybe vegetarian.\u00a0 The flavor of these\u00a0tomatoes stuffed with brown rice and walnuts\u00a0remind me of stuffed bell peppers, because the main ingredients used are similar minus the ground meat.\u00a0 If you\u00a0prefer,\u00a0substitute cooked ground beef for the walnuts.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tomatoes Stuffed with Brown Rice &amp; Walnuts\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Serves 2 for lunch &amp; 4 for appetizer<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2 large beefsteak tomatoes (2 lbs.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Salt Blend:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00bd tsp. kosher salt<\/p>\n<p>\u00bc tsp. paprika<\/p>\n<p>1\/8 tsp. onion powder<\/p>\n<p>1\/8 tsp. garlic powder<\/p>\n<p><strong>Filling:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil<\/p>\n<p>1 cup chopped onion<\/p>\n<p>3 garlic cloves, chopped<\/p>\n<p>1 cup chopped green bell pepper<\/p>\n<p>\u00bd cup walnuts, chopped<\/p>\n<p>1 cup cooked brown rice<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 Slice each tomato in half horizontally.\u00a0 Remove and discard the seeds.\u00a0 Run a knife around the inner edge of each tomato, leaving a wall thick enough to support the filling.\u00a0 Then, scoop out the pulp\/juice and reserve it to make <strong>Quick Fresh Tomato Sauce<\/strong> (recipe below).\u00a0 Invert the tomatoes to drain any excess juice.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0 In a small bowl, mix the salt, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0 In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.\u00a0 Saut\u00e9 onions for 1 minute.\u00a0 Add garlic and pepper and cook for 3 minutes.\u00a0 Stir in walnuts and cook for 1 minute.\u00a0 Mix in the rice and \u00be tsp. of salt blend.\u00a0 Then, sprinkle \u00bc tsp. of salt blend over the hollowed-out tomato halves and fill them with the brown rice mixture.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/IMG_3944.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-110\" title=\"IMG_3944\" src=\"http:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/IMG_3944-298x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/IMG_3944-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/IMG_3944-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/IMG_3944-1020x1024.jpg 1020w, https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/IMG_3944.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I strongly suggest that you use brown rice in this recipe because it imparts a nuttier flavor than white rice.\u00a0 Also, brown rice is healthier than white rice because it\u2019s high in fiber.\u00a0 Remember, fiber keeps you full for a longer time,\u00a0helps your digestive system run more smoothly,\u00a0and has been associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago, I was hesitant to incorporate brown rice into my diet because I didn\u2019t think I would like the taste or the texture.\u00a0 However, I decided to try brown Jasmine rice (from Trader Joe\u2019s) because white Jasmine rice was the staple in my home.\u00a0 I liked it, so I started to sample other kinds of brown rice and discovered that I enjoyed Nishiki medium grain brown rice the most because it\u2019s moister than others.\u00a0 <strong>Explore the many brown rice choices you have in your supermarket and I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll find the type of brown rice that is perfect for you.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Homemade tomato sauce is easy to make, tastes better than store-bought, and is often healthier than pre-made sauce because it contains less salt.\u00a0 In the following recipe, the amount of salt used to season the sauce is up to you.\u00a0 A couple of pinches should do the trick.\u00a0 The same is true for the addition of sugar.\u00a0 As a Sicilian, sauce is not sauce unless it has some sugar in it!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick Fresh Tomato Sauce\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Yield: 2\/3 cup for 2 (1 cup each) pasta sides<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00bd Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil<\/p>\n<p>1 garlic clove, crushed<\/p>\n<p>1\u00bd cup chopped tomato pulp, including juice (from 2 large beefsteak tomatoes)<\/p>\n<p>4 large basil leaves<\/p>\n<p>1 Tbsp. red wine<\/p>\n<p>Salt and sugar, to taste<\/p>\n<p>In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.\u00a0 Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.\u00a0 Carefully pour in the tomatoes and add the basil leaves.\u00a0 Bring to a simmer and cook for 18 minutes, until much of the juice has evaporated.\u00a0 Stir in the red wine and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.\u00a0 Discard the garlic and season with salt and sugar to taste.\u00a0 Toss with pasta and serve.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/IMG_3968.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-114\" title=\"IMG_3968\" src=\"http:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/IMG_3968-300x235.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/IMG_3968-300x235.jpg 300w, https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/IMG_3968-1024x805.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/IMG_3968.jpg 1514w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a hot summer day, it\u2019s nice to keep the oven off and to eat food that&#8217;s light, fresh, and maybe vegetarian.\u00a0 The flavor of these\u00a0tomatoes stuffed with brown rice and walnuts\u00a0remind me of stuffed bell peppers, because the main ingredients used are similar minus the ground meat.\u00a0 If you\u00a0prefer,\u00a0substitute cooked ground beef for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,3,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119,"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions\/119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miancatalano.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}