Middle Eastern Stuffed Zucchini Recipes

MIDDLE EASTERN STUFFED ZUCCHINI RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients of rice, ground beef, shredded onion, fresh parsley, dill, diced tomatoes, water, olive oil, allspice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Mix by hand to combine.
• Now, remove the top of 3 tomatoes and remove the core to hollow out the tomatoes making room for the stuffing. Do this using a corer like this one.
• With a knife, remove the very top of the zucchini, then cut each zucchini in half to make shorter zucchini for stuffing. Now you need to hollow out the zucchini to make room for the stuffing.
• Insert your corer about 3/4 of the way into the zucchini, making sure not to poke the bottoms. Twist the corer and pull out the zucchini cores or hearts. Do this a few times, and gently scrape the sides of the zucchini until you have hollowed each out making room for the stuffing. You'll want to leave about 1/4 inch rim of zucchini.
• Lightly oil the bottom of a large deep cooking pan like this one. Slice the remaining tomato and spread over the bottom of the pan. Now add the onion slices and the cores or hearts of the zucchini. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
• Now, using your hands, gently stuff the hollowed tomatoes with the rice stuffing. Then loosely stuff the zucchini with the rice stuffing about 3/4 of the way (do not over-stuff or crowd the rice stuffing in the zucchini or it will not cook well).
• Arrange the stuffed tomatoes in the center of the cooking pan, then add the stuffed zucchini (stuffed side up) around them. Tilt the zucchini a little, this helps them cook nicely through using less liquid.
• Now add the tomato sauce and water. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• Place the pan on the stove and cook on medium-high heat until the liquid starts boiling. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for for 50 minutes until the zucchini is tender and the rice stuffing is fully cooked.
• Transfer to a serving platter or individual bowls. Top with the sauce from the cooking pan. Enjoy!

MIDDLE EASTERN STUFFED AUBERGINES

Steps:

• Cut the stems off and hollow out the centres of the aubergines to make room for the stuffing. To do that, you will need a special courgette or zucchini corer to get rid of the flesh.Leave about 1/2 inch of rim of aubergine and make sure not to make any holes.
• Start by pouring warm water over rice, and leave aside for it to soften a little.
• Dice onion, tomatoes, and mince some garlic. Roughly chop parsley and fresh mint leaves.
• Mix all of the ingredients together with olive oil, salt, cumin, baharat mix and black pepper. Add the rice and mix. Your stuffing is now ready.
• Stuff the eggplants with the rice veggie stuffing, but make sure that the rice takes only two thirds of the space in the aubergine and is loose as the rice will expand while cooking and can become a bit messy and aubergines might even break.
• Arrange the stuffed aubergines/eggplants in a pot. Then add water or vegetable stock and cook for 15 minutes.
• Add tomato paste or blended tomatoes with garlic, 2 bay leaves and a few mint leaves (fresh or dried). Cook on medium heat for around 40 minutes or until the rice is soft.Cover with a plate to help the aubergines stay in place, you could also place a mug on top if the plates starts to move.
• Cook for about 40 minutes, or until the aubergines are cooked and soft. While the aubergines are being cooked, try the sauce and see if it needs more salt. Add more salt to taste.
• Serve warm in a plate or bowl with some extra tomato sauce from the pot. Eat with yogurt or pita bread.

MIDDLE EASTERN STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Mix together the ground lamb, basmati rice, 2 tablespoons tomato puree, 1/2 teaspoon mint, salt, and pepper; mix well, and set aside.
• Slice the ends off of the zucchinis and hollow out the centers using an apple corer. Stuff with lamb mixture.
• Stir together the remaining tomato puree with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large skillet. Place the stuffed zucchini into the sauce, and add enough water to cover the zucchini. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of mint. Recover, and simmer an additional 15 minutes. To serve, cut the zucchini crosswise into rounds and arrange on a serving plate. Spoon sauce over the top.