Chicken Salad and Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

The next time you’re flummoxed for a dish with flashy presentation, consider using juicy tomatoes as an edible bowl. When they’re stuffed with chicken and whole grain rice, you end up with a well-balanced meal. Don’t compost the scooped out tomato innards. Instead, use them in gazpacho or other puréed tomato soup recipes.

3/4 cup (180 mL) plain 2% Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) curry powder
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 cups (500 mL) finely chopped cooked chicken
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 small yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1/3 cup (80 mL) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped almonds or pecans (optional)
1/4 cup (60 mL) dried currants
8 large tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (350 mL) cooked whole grain rice

In small bowl, stir together yogurt, curry powder, lemon juice, and salt. In large bowl, toss together chicken, celery, yellow bell pepper, parsley, shallot, nuts (if using), and currants. Add yogurt mixture to chicken mixture and mix well.

Slice 1/4 in (0.6 cm) off tops of tomatoes and use spoon to scoop out innards of each tomato. Stuff each tomato with equal amount of rice and then top rice with equal amount of chicken salad.

Serves 4.

Each serving contains: 333 calories; 32 g protein; 5 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 44 g total carbohydrates (18 g sugars, 7 g fibre); 240 mg sodium

source: "You Say Tomato", alive #370, August 2013