Stuffed veggies are a well-known and ancient staple of Middle Eastern, particularly Turkish cuisine. Many have been adapted to other national cuisines, particularly those who belong to countries once under the rule of the Ottoman empire. The best known of these is, I guess, stuffed peppers, popular all over Balkans, and beyond…

Turks stuff peppers, aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes… The generic name for stuffed veggies is dolma. It can be vegetarian, in particular zeytinyağlı biber dolması is a vegan version of stuffed peppers, enjoyed lukewarm or cold. The recipes for the various meat stuffed dolma are similar, but the quickest in making is stuffed tomatoes, domates dolması. Wanna try this perfect summer dish? Here is my recipe…

Suitable for: The recipe is not vegetarian, but it is halal and kosher. It contains no nuts, shellfish, milk, nuts, nor eggs. It does contain glutene.

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⌚ 60 min or less

Ingredients 🛒 (2 servings)

6-8 medium sized firm tomatoes, 200 g ground beef, 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, 4 tbsp rice, 2-3 tbsp chopped basil, 1 medium sized onion, 2-3 garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste, 2 cups water, 3 tbsp tomazo paste, 2 tbsp olive oil

How to 🍳

Cut the top off your tomatoes and use a spoon and knife toremove the watery inside.

Knead the beef with breadcrumbs, rice, basil, finely chopped onion and garlic, salt and pepper.

With wethabds form meatballs and press into the tomatoes. Don’t make the meatballs too big, as they will increase in size while cooking. Cover with the previouslycut-off tomato tops.

Stir tomato paste into water, add a little bit of salt.

Heat olive oil in a suitable pot, put tomatoes into it. When they stsrt frying, pour the tomato-water mix into the pot. Cover (lid half on) and cook on medium to low heat for 30-45 min.