If I Could Only Make ONE Dish For My Family

Ah, guys, to be honest, I'm not afraid to say that I was kind of lost for a long time in my 20s. I didn't feel comfortable in my skin. I didn't know, really know what direction I was going on, which is surprising because obviously I've been doing YouTube and making videos for a long time, but I didn't really feel like I had the key to happiness, let's say. It was almost the environment that would affect me so much. But now, since reconnecting with nature and growing my own food, I feel such a strong sense of purpose. It's given me a plan for the future because I always know that growing food is going to be what I do. And it really feels that I have full control over my survival. The fact that I can grow food that nourishes me is an amazing feeling. Not only that, the pride that I get from harvesting and nurturing the plants up until harvesting and then giving them to friends and family and cooking with them is the best feeling in the world. One of my favorite things in the world to grow and to watch grow is tomatoes. I have to sow the seeds quite early on in the year because they need a considerable amount of time to bear fruit. But when you walk up to the greenhouse and you see the fruits hanging on the vines, one or two fruits red that are ripe for the picking, it just draws you in and it makes you feel quite animalistic actually. It makes you realize that that is ripe, that's ready, I can eat that soon. And I've got something special. I've got a real rare tomato in the greenhouse that is so big I cannot quite believe it. So this juicy tomato, look at that. That is sensational. It's actually ripe now even though it's orange and green and the flesh is green too. It's called a Berkeley tie-dye tomato, a rare seed. I cannot quite believe I've grown that. It's so crazy that the plant can actually withstand the weight of these. I'm amazed. I'm seriously, I'm amazed. Wow. So these are going to be perfect for stuffing because they're so big. So that's what I'm going to do today. And what I mean by the sense of pride is what I have feeling bubbling inside me right now. I just, I can't get over the fact that this is a plant that I nurtured for so long and now I'm reaping the rewards. Sensational. Well, welcome to my home. You're probably wondering what I'm going to stuff those juicy tomatoes with. Well, it all starts with a base of onion for me, like most dishes. And I just want to draw reference to the amounts of onions I managed to grow over the last few months. They're all sat outside my front door just hardening off and then they'll be able to last for like 10 months. And I've probably grown enough to last me that amount of time as well. This is amazing. It smells very onion-y as I open the front door though. So I'm going to pick an onion. We'll get that chopped up really fine along with some homegrown garlic. I'll saute that until it's caramelized beautifully. Meanwhile, I'll chop up some mushroom because that's another thing I want to stuff the tomatoes with. So it's quite a bit of chopping in this recipe. You can just throw everything into a food processor. The next thing I'm going to chop up and add is some mixed nuts. If you cannot have nuts, just use some seeds. I'm also going to chop up and add some dried apricots for that lovely sweetness and a preserved lemon. So I actually have not made this recipe before, believe it or not. But as I was jotting down my ideas, I realized this has taken on somewhat of a Moroccan tagine influence actually, particularly with the mixed nuts and the dried apricots. So I thought I'll play on that a little bit. So we've got to add some spices too. I'm going to add some ground cumin, some smoky smoked paprika, and some dried oregano. You've got to season your food, guys. Salt and pepper. Very important. What salt does is actually brings out flavors. I know I sound like a beaten... No, what do they call it? What's that analogy? I know I sound like a... I forgot what it is. Comment in below. But I keep on talking about this. You've got to add salt because it brings out flavors of food. It's not just to add salt, the flavor of salt. It's to bring and enhance flavors. And a pinch of pepper. Broken record. That's the one. So next step, I think what I'm going to do is get this lovely mushroom nutty mixture into a mixing bowl. I'll stir through some cooked whole grain rice. I'll add a squeeze of lemon juice just to add a bit of freshness. And talking of freshness, I'll harvest some mint from the garden and just break that into the bowl. And then it's time to stuff the tomatoes and get them cooking in the oven. This filling is looking absolutely great and that just pop of mint at the end will be perfect. Just bear in mind that cooking is very visual. I can see that there's enough flavor running through that rice. I don't need to add anything extra. But if you feel like it's a bit rice heavy, then add more of the flavor and ingredients. This is going to get set aside. It's missing one very important ingredient. Of course, the juicy bits that we pull outside of these amazing tomatoes. We don't want to waste that. So what I'm going to do now is top each tomato, scoop out the sort of fleshy, juicy center, leaving a good amount of flesh though around the border. And then I'll chop up the center of the tomatoes, run that through the filling, and then stuff them back inside the lovely tomato shells. That is psychedelic almost. Look at the color. Look at that pattern. Nature is fascinating. Unbelievable. So I think this chopped up flesh is really needed in this filling. It's just going to add a real juiciness. So just mixing that in. This could be just eaten as a salad like this is delicious, but it's going to get stuffed, crammed in as much as I can get into each one of these hollow tomatoes. Wow. Don't they look flipping spectacular. I want to take a photo and frame it and put it on the wall. It's that good. I'm very proud of this. And if you have any filling leftover, because it is quite hard to judge how much you're going to need because it's dependent on the size of tomatoes, just use it in a salad or just have it as a side. It's delicious. These are going to get drizzled with a little olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and then they go into the oven to bake for about 30 minutes. I think once we're waiting for the stuffed tomatoes to cook, I'm going to use my new teapot to make a lovely mint tea with the remaining mint that I picked. Now when I made my new kitchen, there was one thing that I really wanted, instant boiling water. And Kettle sorted me out, this brand that makes this amazing tap. Boiling water. Look at that. 100 degrees. I do like nice things in life. That's what it's all about. Look at this lovely teapot. Spotted tea, sir. Here you go. Your English. Cheerio. Cheers. Divine. Lovely spotted tea. Oh, I'm getting confident now. I love this teapot. And the stuffed tomatoes are nearly ready. Guys, it smells sensational. Sun is just going down. Stuffed peppers? Stuffed tomatoes? Let's put some respect on my homegrown tomatoes name. Stuffed tomatoes for dinner tonight. Let's get them out. Oh, wow. A couple of bursts, but there's some really good ones here. Alright, so my idea for this sensational dish is just to put this in the centre of the dinner table and everyone just tucks in. It is a little messy. What I love is that all of the juices from the tomatoes have come out and created almost a sauce. That's not going to be watery, by the way. That's going to be seasoned and rich and bold and full of depth, thanks to everything that's in that filling. I'm going to carefully plate these up now and take them outside and enjoy them in the golden hour sun. Guys, I am doubly proud now. That's the beauty of self-sufficiency. Not only does it mean growing the food, it means cooking it too. And I've just really celebrated those tomatoes. And that's what cooking means to me. It's now celebrating the produce that I've grown to its fullest potential. And this just looks beautiful. I've got all the caramelization inside on each bit of filling that was exposed to the warmth in the oven. And this dressing, I had a cheeky little taste, phenomenally rich, absolutely incredible. I can't talk anymore. Let's dive in. Oh, it's so juicy. Here it goes. Oh my gosh. I didn't think those weird tie-dye tomatoes could get any tastier, but just cooking them has intensified them so, so much. And that filling is great. Very savory. And then you get that touch of sweetness from the apricots as well. I didn't think my homegrown tomatoes could get any better, but that is sensational. Wow. Wow. And the best bit is that little bit of juice at the end. Guys, I'm so happy to share with you my new book. Or actually, this is actually a revamped version of my old Christmas book that came out many years ago. I wanted to modernize it and look at this beautiful green and the gold. It's matching my new kitchen. But more importantly, inside there's a whole heap of new recipes, new photos. And it's perfect, not just for Christmas, but actually for Thanksgiving and any special festive occasion. You'll find some incredible new recipes in here, from preservation to indulgent desserts and incredible party food and edible gifts too. I'm very proud of this and I'm so happy to remake it and offer something else to the world that's going to hopefully help you during the amazing festive Christmas times and so many other holidays and parties. So here it is, Plant Sunny Holidays out now, please support. It really helps the channel. Just click the link beneath this video to get your hands on a signed copy that my mum sends out all around the world. If you don't want to get it from my website, you can also get it from any good bookstore or on Amazon.