Tomates farcies (Stuffed tomatoes)

This is one of my favorite french dishes, full of flavours and one of these dishes that are even better reheated. Not difficult and great for eating at work the next day, it can be a main on its own, or served with rice or couscous. A doodle to make, you can leave the dish to simmer whilst you are busy doing something else.

Ingredients for 4:
For the meat stuffing:
- 500g minced pork
- 500g minced beef
- 1 onion or shallot chopped
- 2 clove garlic peeled and chopped
- thyme
- laurel
- salt, pepper
And
- 16 tomatoes approx(if you have more, add them to the dish anyway)
- olive oil

Method:

Mix all the meat stuffing ingredients together using your hands. Divide it in equal size balls (smaller than the tomatoes).

Heat the olive oil in a pan and sear the meatballs - don't cook them, just brown the outside. Then reserve them.

For a better presentation, cut a reversed pointy hat in the tomatoes - so that they can contain a meatball each. However ince I could not find reasonnable sized tomatoes, I cut the tomatoes in two and cooked the tomatoes alongside with the meat.

Using the same pan, with the meat juice, cook the tomatoes, and first cook the tomatoes upside down to cook the flesh inside.

When the inside is confit looking, turn them all around and drop a meatball in each of them, place the lid of the pan 1/4 open and let it simmer for 1/2h, until the tomatoes are soft and the meat is simmering in the juice of the tomato.

That's it, the dish is ready!

Source: my mother's recipe, and my photos.