Baked Tomatoes Stuffed With Orzo - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb orzo pasta
6 large tomatoes, firm, ripe
granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, rubbed
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 quart chicken broth, packed
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Preparation

Remove the center pulp and seeds from the tomatoes, hollowing them out well.
Lightly sprinkle into each tomato a little sugar, salt, pepper and oregano; place four cubes of mozzarella in each tomato.
Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion in it until soft; stir in the orzo, stirring well so each grain of pasta is coated.
Pour in 2 cups of the chicken broth, stir well, and simmer until it is absorbed, adding more broth gradually until the orzo is about three quarters cooked; firmer than al dente.
Blend in the Parmesan, stirring it in well. Spoon the orzo mixture into the hollowed tomatoes, filling them.
Place the filled tomatoes in a casserole or baking dish with 1/2 cup of hot broth in the bottom of the dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes; remove the cover and cook an additional 10 minutes.