Roman Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes: The Original Pomodori al Riso
Pomodori al riso are one of those wonderfully simple Italian summer dishes that taste like much more than the sum of their ingredients. Ripe tomatoes are filled with rice, tomato pulp, fresh basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil, then baked slowly over a bed of potatoes.
This is the traditional Roman-style recipe, the kind you will find in family kitchens and rosticcerie throughout Rome and Lazio during the summer.
The secret is not to cook the rice beforehand. The raw rice cooks directly inside the tomatoes, absorbing their juice, olive oil and all the flavours of the filling. The potatoes underneath catch the tomato juices as everything roasts together.
They are delicious warm, but perhaps even better at room temperature — which makes pomodori al riso perfect for a summer lunch, picnic or an easy dinner outdoors.
Traditional Roman Pomodori al Riso
Serves 6
Ingredients
6 large, ripe but firm tomatoes
6 tablespoons rice, approximately 100–120 g
2–3 medium potatoes
1 clove garlic
A generous handful of fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Choose large, round tomatoes that are ripe enough to have plenty of flavour and juice, but still firm enough to hold their shape in the oven.
For the olive oil, use a good-quality Italian extra virgin olive oil. There are so few ingredients in this recipe that the quality of each one really matters.
How to Make Pomodori al Riso
1. Prepare the tomatoes
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut off the tops and keep them — these will become the little "lids" while the tomatoes bake.
Using a spoon, carefully scoop the pulp and juice from inside each tomato into a bowl. Be careful not to break the tomato shells.
Lightly salt the inside of the empty tomatoes and place them upside down for a few minutes while you prepare the filling.
2. Make the rice filling
Break up or roughly blend the tomato pulp and juice.
Add the raw rice, finely chopped garlic, torn basil leaves, a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Mix everything together well.
Now comes an important traditional step: leave the rice mixture to rest for around 30–45 minutes.
The rice will begin absorbing the tomato juices and all those wonderful summer flavours before it even reaches the oven.
3. Prepare the potatoes
Peel the potatoes and cut them into wedges or medium-sized pieces.
Arrange them in a baking dish and season generously with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
The potatoes aren't simply a side dish. As the tomatoes cook, their juices run into the baking dish and flavour the potatoes underneath.
4. Fill the tomatoes
Place the tomatoes among the potatoes.
Spoon the rice mixture into each tomato, but do not fill them completely to the top. The rice needs room to expand as it cooks.
Pour any remaining tomato liquid around the potatoes.
Replace the tomato lids and drizzle everything with a little more extra virgin olive oil.
5. Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F for approximately 50–60 minutes, or until the tomatoes are beautifully roasted, the rice is cooked and the potatoes are golden and tender.
If necessary, give them a little longer. Cooking time can vary depending on the size and juiciness of the tomatoes.
The Most Important Part: Let Them Rest
Don't serve them immediately from the oven.
Let your Roman rice-stuffed tomatoes rest for at least 20–30 minutes. The flavours settle, the rice absorbs the remaining juices and the texture becomes much better.
In Rome, pomodori al riso are very often eaten at room temperature, especially during the hot summer months.
A Few Italian Kitchen Tips
Don't precook the rice. The whole character of the dish comes from the rice cooking slowly in the fresh tomato juices.
Use very ripe summer tomatoes. This isn't really a winter recipe. Good tomatoes provide most of the flavour.
Don't be shy with the olive oil. This is classic Mediterranean cooking, and good extra virgin olive oil brings the tomatoes, rice and potatoes together.
Give the rice time to rest in the tomato pulp. It's a small step, but one that makes a noticeable difference.
And finally, make more potatoes than you think you'll need. The potatoes roasted in the tomato juices and olive oil are usually the first thing to disappear from the table.
Why We Love Pomodori al Riso
This is exactly the kind of Italian recipe we love: seasonal ingredients, very little preparation and no unnecessary complication.
Tomatoes, rice, potatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil — that's essentially the entire dish.
And yet, after an hour in the oven, you have something that tastes unmistakably of an Italian summer.
Buon appetito!
