Levantine Stuffed Tomatoes | Bandoura Mahshi

In the Levant, we stuff pretty much any and all vegetables and to start this stuffed vegetable series off, we'll be stuffing tomatoes (yes i know they're fruits but we eat them like vegetables so today it's a vegetable). We're starting with this because I consider tomatoes to be very easy to stuff and they cook in the oven so it's pretty hands off. It's a great way to step into more complex Levantine recipes without being all too intimidating. I really hope you can give this one a try!

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Bandoura Mahshi:

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Ingredients

• 8 large Tomatoes

• 1.5lbs Ground Beef (10% fat)

• 1 Yellow Onion

• 2 small Red Onion

• 1/4 cup Pine Nuts

• 2 tbsp Olive Oil

• Salt to taste

• 2 tbsp Arabic 7 Spice

• 2 Serrano Peppers (Optional)

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Instructions

Start by dicing the yellow onion and setting aside in a small bowl. Next slice strips out of the red onions and set aside as well.

Slice the top of the tomato off and set aside. Then cut around the perimeter of the tomato to loosen the core and seeds. Then use a spoon to gently dig out the core and seeds. DO NOT throw anything away. Keep the cored tomatoes with their tops together in one tray and the cores and seeds together in another.

Place a large skillet on high heat for a couple minutes then drop to medium. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan and drop in the diced yellow onion. Saute for a few minutes or until they become soft and translucent. Add the ground beef and break up into small pieces. Cook until a majority of the pink is gone. Season with Arabic 7 spice and salt to taste. Continue cooking and mixing so the spices are evenly distributed throughout and all the pink is gone.

Heat a small pan on high heat for a couple minutes then drop to medium low. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and the pine nuts. Mix well so the pine nuts are evenly coated in the oil and toast until they become golden brown. This happens very quickly so pay attention and do your best not to burn them. Once they’re golden brown, immediately add to the meat, mix around, and that’s our stuffing or in Arabic, Hashweh.

Get a baking dish with some depth, I used a 4qt saute pan, and add the tomato cores and seeds and the red onion strips to the bottom. Place all the cored tomatoes on top and fill each with as much of the hashweh (filling) as you can. You can add a couple serrano peppers here if you like heat. Then cover with the tomato tops, cover the whole pot, and into a 425F oven for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven, drizzle some olive oil on top and salt to taste. Place back in the oven uncovered for another 45 minutes and that’s it.

Serve immediately with vermicelli rice and enjoy!