afoona
Blanched Zucchini Stuffed with Meat and Rice in Tomato Paste
Meat

Blanched Zucchini Stuffed with Meat and Rice in Tomato Paste

Zucchini stuffed with ground meat and rice seasoned in Middle Eastern style, cooked in a rich tomato sauce – a classic family dish

⏱ 1 hr 20 min🍽 4 servings 🌍 Middle Eastern👩‍🍳 Afoona🧩 2 parts
🥩 Meat🌾 Gluten-free🧀 Shavuot

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

  1. 1
    Mix the ground meat with the onion, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, rice, olive oil, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

  1. 2
    Halve the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the insides with a teaspoon, leaving walls of about 5 mm.
    KnifeCutting board
  2. 3
    Cook the zucchini halves in boiling water about 5 minutes, until slightly softened, and drain.
    ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStoveWide, shallow potColander
  3. 4
    Fill the zucchini with the mixture up to ¾ full: the rice swells as it cooks.
    💡Fill only three-quarters full: the uncooked rice swells inside the vegetable, and a full filling gets pushed out.
  4. 5
    Arrange the zucchini, now stuffed, in a wide pot.
    Wide, shallow pot
  5. 6
    Mix the stock, tomato paste, garlic, sugar and salt and pour over the zucchini.
  6. 7
    Heat in a wide pot and sauté the chopped caps 0 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stock, garlic, sugar and salt and stir until the paste dissolves.
    ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
  7. 8
    Serve hot with fresh bread.
532calories
24 gprotein
51 gcarbs
24 gfat
● protein 18%● carbs 39%● fat 42%

Per serving (761 g), of 4 servings

For the Meatball mix · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (6) · 🍳 One cooking vessel

  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Lid · Also works: Aluminum foil (tight aluminum foil) · Plate (an upside-down plate)
  • Wide, shallow pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (None) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Pot (Layers instead of a single layer)
  • Cutting board · Also works: Plate (Large plate, dulls the knife)
  • Knife · Also works: Food processor (Fast, less control over size) · Kitchen shears (For herbs/dough)
  • Colander · Also works: Lid (a lid held slightly open over the sink, you lose a little) · Slotted spoon (for small amounts)

By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.

🧩 Built from…

Meatball mix → Stuffed vegetables

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