Jeweled Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes is my recipe of the day! Boy is this a recipe for the books. Friends, these beautiful stuffed tomatoes have change my veggie eating world! What I love most about this recipe is all the AMAZING flavours from the jeweled couscous. Let’s dig in…
Perfectly meat free and utterly delicious, this meal of Jeweled Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes is one of my favourites. When the talented Di Bibby posted her version with risotto a while ago, I instantly wanted to try stuffing mah tomatoes!
How do you make Stuffing for Veggies?
So, if there is only one thing on the planet you need as a stuffing for literally ANYTHING – Jeweled Couscous is the answer. Typically from Iranian or Persian cooking, jeweled rice is a staple with the incredibly flavorsome aromas typically found in these types of cuisines. I adapted the recipe from BonAppetit, and used couscous as my starch, rather than rice. (Only because I had couscous on hand…)
Flavors are moulded by using a whole bunch of key ingredients for the jeweled couscous. However, if you find some ingredients out of your reach, you can get away with a cheats version (like mine) for a similar taste and texture explosion. For example, I didn’t have saffron on hand, but used a whole bunch of flavorsome spices in my recipe.
How do you make Stuffed Tomatoes?
Firstly, slice the tops off of each tomato. Carefully loosen the flesh by inserting a sharp knife and around the inside of the tomato. Then scoop out the flesh. Finally add spoonsful of jeweled couscous into each hollow tomato. You can place the head of the tomato back on if you like or simply just bake it as is. Yum!
The perfect meat free, plant based meal!
| Prep Time | 20 min |
| Cook Time | 10 min |
| Servings | servings |
- 1/2 cup almonds flaked
- 1/2 cup pistachios peeled
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 large orange zest retained
- 1 medium carrot peeled and finely diced
- 1.5 cups couscous uncooked
- 15 ml olive oil
- 1.5 cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- salt and black pepper to season
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 large onion peeled and finely diced
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 8 large fresh tomatoes ripe and firm
Ingredients
| Rate this recipe! |
- There is quite some prep involved, so take it step for step and you will be A ok!
- First off, place the nuts in an oven safe tray and roast for one minute, oven set to grill. Check frequently. Set aside.
- Next, place the raisins and cranberries in a bowl and cover with hot water to soak. Set aside.
- Then, in a small saucepan combine the sugar and water with the orange zest and chopped carrot. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes until slightly reduced and sticky. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, boil water and in a small mixing bowl, combine uncooked couscous and the same amount of hot water. Cover and leave to steep for 2 minutes.
- After steeping time, loosen the couscous with a fork and add the butter and olive oil. Season, mix and set aside.
- In a saucepan, add the chili flakes, turmeric and cardamom pods. Dry roast for a few minutes to activate the aromas and transfer to a pestle and mortar. Ground until fine. Set aside.
- In the same saucepan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and crushed garlic until translucent. Now add the spices and mix.
- Next, you simply add the rest of your prepped ingredients to the saucepan and saute it all together for a while. Add the cooked couscous, nuts, drained raisins and cranberries and orange/carrot sugar syrup. Combine.
- Carefully slice the tops of each tomato and scoop out the flesh. Add spoonsful of jeweled couscous into each hollow tomato.
- Arrange the tomatoes so they fit tightly into an oven safe dish and roast for 10 min at 180 degrees Celsius.
