Stuffed Zucchini with Meat

Hollowed zucchini filled with ground beef, rice and fresh herbs, then gently simmered in a tomato broth. A Turkish home-cooking classic, served hot.

Ingredients

• 800 g zucchini (hollowed weight)
• 250 g ground beef (20% fat)
• 120 g white rice
• 450 g (about 2 cups) water
• 120 g onion
• 150 g tomato
• 25 g (1 tbsp) tomato paste
• 30 g (2 tbsp) olive oil
• 15 g (1 tbsp) butter
• 3 g (2 tsp) dried mint
• 15 g dill
• 15 g parsley
• 12 g (2 tsp) salt

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim the ends of the zucchini and hollow them out with a corer, leaving walls about 5 mm thick.

2. 2

   Rinse the rice several times and drain. Finely chop the onion; grate half the tomato and slice the other half to cap the zucchini. Finely chop the dill and parsley.

3. 3

   In a large bowl, knead together the ground beef, rice, onion, grated tomato, half the tomato paste, the olive oil, dried mint, dill, parsley and two-thirds of the salt.

4. 4

   Stuff the zucchini three-quarters full, loosely, as the rice will swell. Cap each with a tomato slice and stand them upright, snugly, in a medium pot.

5. 5

   Dissolve the remaining tomato paste and salt in the water and pour over the zucchini; dot the butter on top.

6. 6

   Cover, bring to a boil over medium heat, then simmer on low for 40-45 minutes, until the rice and zucchini are tender.

7. 7

   Remove from the heat, let stand for 10 minutes and serve hot with the cooking juices.

Nutrition

Per serving