Tomates Farcies Recipe (Stuffed Tomatoes)

Every year when summer rolls around, and tomatoes are at their peak, I start to crave “Tomates Farcies”, or “Stuffed Tomatoes”. This is one of my favorite French recipes, which is typically served in the summertime, but because the tomatoes are roasted, it’s also pretty good any time of year!

They make for a great leisurely Sunday lunch or dinner, and serving them with rice is a must for soaking up all the delicious sauce!

Step#1: Prep The Tomatoes

• Stuffed tomatoes look and taste their best when vine-ripened tomatoes are used. I choose to keep the green tops on the tomatoes because not only does it look more charming, but it also makes the tops easier to put on and take off.
• Slice the tops off the tomatoes, and be sure to keep each top “married” to the tomato it was sliced from.
• This helps all the tops fit perfectly on all the bases. Otherwise, it will be hard to match them up later! 

Best Way to Hollow Out Tomatoes

• Core each tomato with a melon baller. I have found that this is the easiest way to avoid cutting yourself or damaging the tomato’s insides.
• This is definitely the most tedious part of the process.
• But if you have kids at home or family visiting, this is a great group project!

Keep Track of the Tops!

• This may seem like a small detail, but if you want a pretty presentation, keep track of the tomato tops that match the tomato bottoms. Since each tomato differs in size and shape, there’s only 1 matching top for each tomato.
• If you mix them up, they’ll all look a bit lopsided once they are baked. If the tomatoes are too wobbly and having a hard time staying upright, you can slice a small sliver off the bottom of each tomato to stabilize it. 

Step#2: Prepare the Tomato Stuffing

• For this recipe, I like to use ground pork since it’s most traditional. But you could also use a mix of beef and pork, or beef, pork, and veal. I have found that fattier cuts of pork work better, as they create a more flavorful stuffing.
• Just ask your butcher for their recommendations for the ground pork with the highest fat content. 
• You’ll season the pork with salt, pepper, herbs de Provence, garlic, and fresh parsley. This will add flavor to the stuffing, but it’s the sandwich bread that adds all the lightness! 
• You can leave the crusts on, cut the bread into cubes, and toss it gently with milk. This is the same technique my Italian relatives employ for their meatballs, and it does a world of good! 
• The bread and the milk make the stuffing in the tomatoes less dense, lighter, and fluffier! 

Keeping the Stuffing Light!

Stir the mixture together with your hands. This is the best way to keep the stuffing light while preventing it from compressing too much. If the stuffing gets too “compact,” it will create a denser texture. So work the stuffing gently! 

Step#4: Stuff the Tomatoes and Bake

Stuff each tomato with an ice cream scoop. This will ensure that each stuffing is approximately the same size and will cook through at the same rate. 

Creating a Delicious Sauce for the Tomatoes

Then the final step, which is the piéce de résistance, in my opinion, is the white wine. Once the tomatoes are stuffed and secured in their baking dish, add the wine to the baking dish. The wine will combine with the tomato and meat juices released during baking to create the most delicious sauce once the tomatoes are done. 

Serving

• Spoon the sauce over the tomatoes just before serving and bring them to the table.
• I typically serve two tomatoes per person, since the vine-ripened tomatoes are a bit smaller than, say, a beefsteak tomato, but so much tastier too! 
• My mother-in-law always serves hers with white buttered rice, which I think is the perfect accompaniment to this dish since it gives you a vehicle for collecting all that delicious sauce! But a crusty French baguette works too!