Middle Eastern Stuffed Zucchini

• Meat

  • 1/2 lb Ground beef, lean

• Produce

  • 1 14.5 oz canned diced tomato, canned
  • 1/3 packed cup Dill
  • 1 Scant tsp Garlic powder
  • 2 Onion, small
  • 1/3 packed cup Parsley
  • 4 Tomatoes, large and very firm
  • 2 1/2 lb Zucchini or middle eastern zucchini, Medium-sized

• Condiments

  • 1 can Tomato sauce

• Pasta & Grains

  • 1/2 cup Grain rice, medium

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 Scant tsp Allspice
  • 1 Salt and pepper

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 2 tbsp Olive oil, Extra Virgin

• Liquids

  • 1 1/4 cup Water

Found on themediterraneandish.com

Description

Ingredients

• ½ cup medium grain rice, rinsed
• ½ lb lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, peeled, shredded
• ⅓ packed cup chopped parsley
• ⅓ packed cup chopped dill
• 1 14.5 oz canned diced tomato
• ½ cup water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Scant 1 tsp allspice
• Scant 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• 4 large and very firm tomatoes, divided (3 to be cored and stuffed, 1 to be sliced)
• 1 small onion, sliced into rounds
• 2½ lb Medium-sized zucchini or Middle Eastern zucchini (about 8 or so zucchini), lightly peeled
• 1 can tomato sauce
• ¾ cup water

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients of rice, ground beef, fresh parsley, dill, diced tomatoes, water, olive oil and spices. Mix by hand to combine.
• Now, remove the top of the remaining 3 tomatoes and remove the core to hallow out the tomatoes making room for the stuffing. Do this using a corerlike this one. Amelon baller may work here as well.
• 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 hallow out the zucchini to make room for the stuffing.
• Insert your corer about ¾ 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 hallowed each out making room for the stuffing. Youll want to leave about ¼ 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 hallowed tomatoes with the rice stuffing. Then loosely stuff the zucchini with the rice stuffing about ¾ 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!