Stuffed Green Tomatoes with Pork and Rice
Green tomatoes stuffed with a pork and rice filling, baked under lard and a light roux, finished with a baked egg-and-sour-cream custard on top.
Quick Summary
Round green tomatoes are hollowed and stuffed with a sauteed pork and rice filling, then baked with fresh lard on top. Partway through, a light flour roux and a little water go in to keep them moist, and the dish finishes under a baked egg, milk, and sour cream custard.
Historical recipe
Modernised adaptation of an early 20th‑century source. Not independently kitchen-tested by Attic Recipes. Quantities, temperatures, and food safety guidance have been updated for a contemporary kitchen — results may vary and errors may exist. Nutritional values, where provided, are estimates only and have not been laboratory tested. Always follow current food safety guidelines for your region. If you have a health condition, allergy, or dietary requirement, consult a qualified professional before preparing this recipe.
Use of this recipe is entirely at your own risk and subject to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Attic Recipes accepts no liability for any adverse outcome.
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Gluten
Additional notes
-
Warning
Ground pork must reach a minimum internal temperature of 71°C (160°F) before serving. This is especially important for pregnant women, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system.
-
Warning
The egg, milk, and sour cream topping must be fully set and baked through, with no visible liquid, before serving. A runny custard indicates the eggs are undercooked.
-
Note
This is a rich dish, high in saturated fat from the lard and the egg-and-cream topping. Those managing cholesterol or cardiovascular conditions may want a smaller portion.
- 1
Hollow out the green tomatoes as you would red tomatoes, removing the seeds and a little of the flesh. Set aside.
- 2
In a pan, sauté the ground pork together with the cooked rice, salt, pepper, and parsley until the pork is no longer pink.
Tip The filling will finish cooking in the oven, but browning it well now builds flavor and reduces excess moisture. - 3
Stuff the hollowed tomatoes with the pork and rice filling.
- 4
Arrange the stuffed tomatoes in a covered baking dish, placing one small piece of fresh lard on top of each.
- 5
Bake in a preheated oven until the tomatoes are about half cooked, roughly 25-30 minutes.
- 6
Meanwhile, warm the 1 tsp lard in a small pan and stir in the flour to make a light roux; cook briefly, then thin it with the water.
- 7
Pour the roux over the half-baked tomatoes and return the dish to the oven, baking until the tomatoes are nearly done, about 20-25 minutes more.
- 8
Beat the eggs together with the milk and sour cream.
- 9
Pour the egg mixture over the tomatoes and bake a further 10-15 minutes, until the custard is fully set.
Tip Pork must reach a safe internal temperature of 71°C (160°F), and the egg custard must be fully set with no visible liquid, before serving — especially important for pregnant women, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system. - 10
Serve hot, straight from the baking dish.
Nutrition Information per 1 serving (approx 360g)
Nutritional values are approximate estimates and may vary based on specific ingredients used, preparation methods, and portion sizes.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot, straight from the baking dish, with crusty bread to mop up the custard and pan juices. A simple green salad on the side balances the richness of the lard and custard.
About This Recipe
Stuffed green tomatoes were a way to make good use of the tomatoes still on the vine when the season ran out of time — round, unripe, and firm enough to hold a filling without collapsing in the oven. Hollowed out and packed with a sautéed pork and rice mixture, they bake slowly under a piece of lard, then take on a light roux to keep them moist, before finishing under a savory egg and sour cream custard poured over near the end.
The dish sits somewhere between a stuffed vegetable and a baked casserole, built in stages: a filling that cooks twice, once on the stove and once in the oven, and a topping that transforms a straightforward vegetable bake into something closer to a savory clafoutis.
Why It Works
Baking the tomatoes covered, under a piece of fat, keeps them from drying out while the still-firm green flesh softens slowly. Adding the roux partway through both moistens the dish and gives the pan juices some body, so the finished custard doesn’t simply run off the tomatoes. Pouring the egg, milk, and sour cream mixture over the nearly-finished tomatoes and returning them to the oven only briefly lets the custard set into a light, savory layer rather than scrambling.
Modern Kitchen Tips
If your green tomatoes vary a lot in size, group similarly sized ones together and check the smaller ones a little earlier, since they’ll cook through faster. A shallow baking dish works better than a deep one here, so the custard sets evenly rather than pooling too thick around the tomatoes. Leftovers reheat well in a low oven, though the custard will lose some of its lightness.
A classic of early 20th century home cooking, preserved and adapted for the modern kitchen.
The Story Behind This Recipe
Historical Context
Green tomatoes were a practical use for the last of the harvest before the first frost, when a portion of the crop would never have time to ripen. The filling described here — ground meat, rice, and a few aromatics, sautéed before stuffing — was the standard approach for stuffed vegetables of the period, whether tomatoes, peppers, or courgettes, and would have used whatever meat was on hand. Finishing a baked vegetable dish under a poured egg and sour cream custard was also a common technique of the time, giving a plain vegetable bake a richer, more finished character for the table.
Modern Kitchen Adaptation
The oven temperature was not specified and has been estimated at 180°C (350°F) / 160°C fan, standard for a slow vegetable bake of this kind. Quantities for the rice, salt, pepper, parsley, the thinning water, and the milk-and-sour-cream split for the custard were not specified and have been estimated based on standard proportions for a filling and topping of this type. Lard can be replaced with butter or a neutral oil if preferred, though it was the traditional fat for both the topping pieces and the roux. As with any dish containing ground meat and a raw egg mixture that is then baked, both the pork and the custard must be fully cooked through before serving.
This recipe is an independent modern adaptation developed from historical sources in the public domain. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional dietary, nutritional, or medical advice. Food preparation involves inherent risks. The reader assumes full responsibility for safe food handling, ingredient sourcing, and adherence to current local food safety guidelines. The site operator accepts no liability for outcomes resulting from the preparation or consumption of this recipe.
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