Tomatoes Stuffed with Dirty Rice

Serves 4

You might wonder how a dish of Cajun rice found its way into my grandmother’s Israeli kitchen. Truth is, she would stuff a tomato with almost anything, and I just know she would have loved this “dirty rice” with chicken livers.

• 1 cup jasmine rice
•   Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons schmaltz (see sidebar) or olive oil
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1 large chicken liver, minced
• ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
•   Pinch ground cinnamon
•   Pinch cayenne
•   Pinch crushed dried rose petals (see Resources), optional
• 1 cup My Chicken Stock (see recipe)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 4 firm beefsteak tomatoes

● Cover the rice with water by several inches and add a pinch of salt. Let soak for at least 60 minutes or up to overnight. Drain well.

● Preheat the oven to 350°F. Warm 2 tablespoons of the schmaltz or oil in a large ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and chicken liver. Season with ¾ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to mash the liver into mere specks, until the vegetables begin to soften but not brown, about 8 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until it is evenly coated and begins to lightly toast, about 3 more minutes. Add the sesame seeds, cinnamon, cayenne, and dried rose petals, if you like. Stir to combine.

● Add the chicken stock, raise the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Stir with a fork once or twice, cover, and transfer to the oven. Bake until the rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Let stand, covered, off the heat for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Let cool completely, and then fold in the egg.

● Increase the oven temperature to 375°F. Meanwhile, oil a small baking dish. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and remove the seeds and flesh with a small spoon. Coat the tomatoes, inside and out, with the remaining 2 tablespoons schmaltz or oil. Salt the tomato cavities well. Spoon one quarter of the dirty rice into each tomato. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake until the tomatoes are a bit wrinkly and the stuffing feels firm, about 45 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.