Stuffed tomatoes with rice and fennel

Ingredients:

6 large, ripe tomatoes

8 tablespoons glazed rice

4 large onions, finely chopped

1 large bunch fennel

2 carrots, grated

1 artichoke, grated

2 courgettes, grated

1 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

A shot of oregano

Salt and pepper

7 large vine leaves

Olive oil to cook in

Preparation:

Cut off the top of tomatoes, but save tops for later use, and scoop out the pulp from the inside of tomatoes – leave skin only, but save the pulp also. Season the inside of tomatoes with salt to taste and place them upside-down on a dish to drain. In a large bowl, mix in olive oil, tomato pulp (mashed), onions, carrots, artichoke, courgettes, fennel, rice, oregano, sugar and salt-pepper. Stir the ingredients well by hand. Stuff the tomatoes with the filling and cover them with the tops you saved earlier. Place the tomatoes in a baking pan and cover them with vine leaves, so that they do not get burnt in the process. Over the vine leaves grate a large tomato, pour with the olive oil and place the pan in the oven. Cook at 150 degrees for an hour and a half. Fifteen minutes earlier, remove the burnt vine leaves and let the tomatoes cook a little. Serve the meal slightly warm or at room temperature.