Stuffed Tomatoes

I was looking through a cookbook on Middle Eastern food for inspiration when I came across a recipe for Tunisian stuffed tomatoes. Those call for olives and capers, which I really dislike, as well as preserved lemons, which I don't have. So this is a departure from the Tunisian traditional, but we loved it. Try it with lemony potatoes for a light dinner. Or just make the stuffing part as a quick spiced-up version of a tuna salad for lunch/snack.

Ingredients
2-4 medium tomatoes, firm but ripe
2 red peppers
1 can tuna (chunk light -- not albacore!), drained
1/4 cup parsley, chopped up, stems removed
1-2 tsp. lemon zest, grated

Directions
Roast the peppers. This is the most fun part. If you have a preferred method for pepper-roasting, do that and skip to the next paragraph. I like to do it the Alton Brown way -- directly over a gas burner. Put the peppers (one per burner, if you're doing more than one at a time) directly on the metal grate above the burner and turn with tongs every couple of minutes until you get an even char on the skin. (You'll remove that part, so don't worry.) Then put the hot, charred pepper into a bowl and cover with a plate. Let it sit until it cools, about 15 or so minutes. This will steam the pepper inside its skin.

Preheat the oven to about 350F. Combine all the other ingredients in a separate bowl. When the peppers are cooked through and cool enough to handle, peel off the skin. You should be able to do this easily with your fingers -- it'll come right off. Get all the charred bits off the pepper, and pull the pepper apart to reveal the seeds inside. Depending on how cooked through your peppers are, this may be messy. Get all of the seeds out, and then cut the peppers into thin strips (whatever size you want to eat inside the tomato).

Now take your tomatoes and cut a small hole into the tops -- reserve the caps. Scoop out all the juice and seeds with a spoon. Now shove your tuna/pepper mix into the tomatoes, replace the caps, place them on a baking dish, and roast for about 20-30 minutes. The tomato should be soft but should still retain its form.

Serve as a side dish or as a main course. Goes well with lemony roasted potatoes. If you have filling remaining, refrigerate and use for the next day's lunch box -- works well as a fresh tuna salad over a bed of baby spinach.