Looking for a simple way to include vegetables into your dinner plans? Preparing orzo stuffed tomatoes is the perfect way to decorate any dish and dish out the veggies at the same time.
When you stop at the grocery store in Winona try and look for the smallest tomatoes possible. Cherry tomatoes are too small and plum tomatoes do not stand up on their own. Search through the tomato display for your basic round tomato and try to purchase eight of them around the same size.
Tomatoes; as everyone knows, is actually a fruit but is usually served and referred to as a vegetable. They contain a high concentration of Vitamin C. Tomatoes also have a healthy amount of nutrients and vitamins. Some of which include Vitamin A, Vitamin B, iron, potassium and phosphorus.
Another health benefits found in tomatoes is lucopene. Lucopene is an antioxidant which aids in fighting free radicals that interfere with normal cell growth and activity. Therefore, this healthy fruit will help fight heart disease, premature aging as well as cancer.
Tomatoes unfortunately are on the list of the top ten foods that many people have become allergic to.
Ingredients:
- 8 small to medium sized tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups of orzo pasta (uncooked)
- 1 (6 ounce bag) of baby spinach
- 2 small zucchini, diced
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ½ teaspoons of fresh minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon of pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons of fresh parsley, chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
- Grated cheese
Directions:
- Wash the tomatoes under cool water.
- Pat tomatoes dry with a paper towel.
- Cut the tops off the tomatoes.
- Then using a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp of the tomato and place this in a small container. ( Add this tomato pulp to your next pot of tomato sauce so it does not go to waste. )
- Place all the tomatoes inside a baking tray. Make sure that all the tomatoes remain upright. ( Keeping them close in the pan will prevent them from turning or falling down. )
- Rinse the spinach under cool water. Shake out the excess water and chop into very small pieces. Set aside in a mixing bowl.
- Rinse the zucchini under cool water also. Cut off both ends and discard them to the compost pile later.
- Take the zucchini and dice it into small pieces. Set the zucchini aside in the bowl with the spinach.
- Again, rinse the red bell pepper under cool water. Remove the stem and scoop out the seeds. Rinse the pepper again under cool water to ensure all the seeds are gone. Chop the pepper into small dice size chunks. Add the pepper to the spinach bowl too.
- Fill a pasta pot with water, add teaspoon of salt, cover pot and with the heat on high bring water to a boil.
- While you’re waiting for the water to boil heat the olive oil in a medium sized frying pan.
- Add the minced garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Do not let the garlic brown.
- Cook the orzo pasta as usual.
- In the frying pan add the zucchini, red bell pepper and spinach.
- Sauté all the vegetables in the fry pan. Allow it to cook for approximately 5 minutes.
- Now add the oregano and parsley to the frying pan.
- Stir all the spices in and allow them to cook for another minute to infuse the vegetables with their flavors. ( The aroma will start to get to you right away. )
- Remove frying pan from the heat and set aside.
- When the pasta is done, drain it through a colander and rinse under cool water.
- Now take the orzo and add it to the frying pan with the vegetables. Stir well. ( Or, add both mixtures into a large mixing bowl and toss. )
- Sprinkle lightly with some salt and pepper inside each tomato.
- Grab a tablespoon with the orzo vegetable filling and stuff each of the tomatoes.
- Sprinkle the top heavily with grated cheese.
- Place the pan in the oven and cook the stuffed tomatoes for 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes themselves start to soften.
- Remove pan from oven and transfer the stuffed tomatoes to a serving platter.
- The orzo stuffed tomatoes are ready to be served and eaten hot.
- Enjoy!
Suggestions:
- Prepare orzo stuffed tomatoes as an appetizer. Just slice them in half once they are cooked before setting them on the serving platter.
- These are so good one could even feast on one or two for lunch instead of the usual sandwich.
- When a simple dinner of steak and something is what you are looking for this is the perfect side to that perfectly cooked steak. Contained in the tomato is your starch, vegetables and the tomato itself is a fruit. A little cooking and most of the food groups are covered in no time.
