Mrs Cornic's stuffed tomatoes

This recipe for tomates farcies works equally well for courgettes. Many thanks to Mael Cornic for passing on his mother's recipe. We use a lot of ras el hanout - you get a lot of stuffing from this mixture, so up to four tablespoonfuls of ras el hanout is not too much if it's a mildish mix. I know it sounds like too much. I think lamb mince would be a good substitute for the beef/sausage mixture if you didn't want to use pork.

Anyway:

You'll need biggish tomatoes. Cut the top (side opposed to that of the stem) and delicately empty the tomato using a spoon. Keep the flesh. Sprinkle the inside of the tom with salt turn over and leave to rest on a tray. You can also do the same with courgettes and peppers, if you want more variety (I must say the stuffed courgettes are my fave).

For the stuffing for ~8 stuffed veggies you'll need:

- 400g minced beef

- 400g sausagemeat

- 1 big onion, chopped finely

- 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

- 1 small can of tomato puree

- a bunch of parsley, chopped finely

- 1 egg

- salt, pepper, ras el hanout if you have otherwise cumin powder

- breadcrumbs

- vegetable stock

Fry all the meat separately (in butter, yum). In another pan, fry the garlic and onion gently - let to sweat properly. Then add the reserved tomato (and courgette) flesh that you've kept and let reduce. Add the cooked meat. Adjust the tomatoness with tomato puree. Finally crack an egg on top and mix rapidly - that'll bind the stuffing. Adjust seasoning and spice (ras el hanout ideally, cumin otherwise ; go easy on the cumin) and throw in the chopped bunch of parsley. Don't be afraid to turn your stuffing green.

Finally stuff your tomatoes (or other veggies) with that lot, leaving a little mound at the top. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs. Do not cover the tops with the sliced off tomato top but simply lay them aside in the dish. Lay in an oven proof dish ; moisten the bottom of the dish with vegetable stock. Bung in a hot oven for 35-40 minutes (check that the stock is not drying up ; top up if necessary).

To serve, top the toms or other veggies with their sliced off tops over the breadcrumby bit which should have gone crunchy.