Middle Eastern Stuffed Vegetables
1.5 HRS
8 servings, Egg& Gluten Free
Ingredients
1 small onion, shredded
½ lb lean ground beef
½ cup long-grain rice, rinsed well
½ cup chopped parsley
⅓ cup chopped dill
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomato with juice
½ cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
For vegetables:
2 large and very firm tomatoes, divided (1 to be cored and stuffed, and 1 to be sliced)
6 medium-sized zucchinis, cored
1 potato, sliced
1 small onion, sliced into rounds
1 bell pepper, cored
1 .5 cups tomato puree
¾ cup water
Preparation
In a pan, saute onions and ground beef until half cooked.
Add rice, fresh parsley, dill, diced tomatoes, water, olive oil, allspice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
Now, remove the top of 1 tomato and remove the core to hollow out the tomatoes making room for the stuffing. Repeat the same with the bell pepper.
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 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 hollowed each out making room for the stuffing. You'll want to leave about ¼ inch rim of zucchini.
Lightly oil the bottom of a large deep cooking pan. Slice the remaining tomato and spread over the bottom of the pan. Now add the onion slices, potato 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 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 centre 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 50 minutes until the zucchini is tender and the rice stuffing is fully cooked.
11. Transfer to a serving platter or individual bowls. Top with the sauce from the cooking pan. Enjoy!