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Stuffed Zucchini

With ground Lamb, Rice and Jerusalem artichokes

Quick answerMakes 6 servings, ready in 3 hours, cook at 200c/430F, Mediterranean cuisine.
By Jaron Kimhi··👁 505 views
Stuffed Zucchini
There is something very comforting about taking a vegetable, filling it up with something else, and giving the vegetable and its stuffing a new form of existence. This is what's happening when you make the stuffed zucchini with ground lamb, spices, and rice — creating a unique existence for both the zucchini and the ground meat. Stuffed Zucchini This dish is inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, where filled vegetables are like a national sport — almost every vegetable can be stuffed, regardless of its shape and size. The most common dish in this category is of course the stuffed vine leaf, usually filled with ground beef and rice. It's a popular dish and a must-have entry course in Greek and Arab kitchens all over the Mediterranean. The Moroccans, for example, will stuff almost every available vegetable — you can find stuffed zucchini, eggplant, onions, cabbage, cauliflower (yes, cauliflower), and basically whatever you can think of. Stuffed Zucchini Making the stuffed zucchini isn't difficult, but it takes a bit of work since we have to handle both the filling and the vegetable separately. In this recipe I used the round ball-shaped zucchini called Round De Nice. They have soft flesh and are fairly easy to work with — the inner flesh scoops out pretty easily and stuffing them is comfortable. If you can't find this kind, regular zucchinis will do just fine. Stuffed Zucchini The ground lamb and rice are cooked together — the lamb is cooked all the way through while the rice is only half cooked, since it'll continue cooking in the oven. I also added Jerusalem artichoke. It adds so much flavor and texture to the dish — definitely worth the time and effort of tracking it down. Make sure not to overstuff your zucchini. Remember, the rice will double in size during the second cooking, and if the stuffing is too tight there's a real chance it'll tear up the zucchini. For the sauce, we use roasted vegetables — the slightly burnt tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions give the dish a strong, campfire rustic flavor. As always with stuffed vegetables, a regular tomato sauce will do just fine if you don't have the time to make the roasted vegetables. Stuffed Zucchini Besides the zucchini prep, you can make all the other ingredients in advance — when you're ready, just work on the zucchinis and throw them in the oven.  

Method

  1. 1

    cook the Jerusalem artichokes· 20 minutes

    Bring a medium saucepan with water to a boil. Peel the artichokes and cook for 20 minutes, they will still be a bit stiff, it’s OK. Cut the artichokes into small cube like pieces and set aside.

    Stuffed Zucchini
  2. 2

    Prepare the stuffing· 25 minutes

    Heat a large cast iron skillet for about 4 minutes, add the onions, cook for 2-3 minutes, add the vegetable oil and diced celery, cook for another 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Add the ground lamb breaking it with a wooden spoon, add the cubed artichokes, pour the soy sauce and cook for another 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, add the za'atar, parsley and season with paprika, cinnamon, black pepper and salt. Cook for another 3 minutes and add the rice, mix and pour in the water, reduce heat to low and cook for about more 10 minutes until the water evaporates completely. At this point, the rice will be half cooked.

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  3. 3

    Roasting the sauce vegetables· 40 minutes

    Preheat your oven to 250c/ 500F. Place the halved tomatoes in a heatproof container (we want to keep all the tomatoes fluids) and set on a baking tray. Add the bell peppers and onion to the baking tray on the sides of the tomato container, sprinkle with olive oil and place in the oven for about 40 minutes until well roasted. Set aside to cool.

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  4. 4

    Stuffing the zucchinis· 10 minutes

    Remove the top of the zucchini, keep it aside it will be the lid of the zucchini. With a regular spoon remove the inner flesh of the zucchini creating a hollow vegetable with about 1/2-inch sides. Mix the rice and lamb with half of the roasted tomatoes and stuff the zucchinis, make sure not to over press the vegetable because the rice will puff a bit during the baking time.

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  5. 5

    Baking and serving· 5 minutes

    Dice the remaining roasted tomatoes, bell peppers and onions roughly, add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 cup of water, mix to incorporate and season with salt. Add the remaining ground lamb and rice mixture to the sauce and pour it into a heatproof baking pan.

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  6. 6

    Finishing the dish· 1 hour

    Preheat your oven to 180c/ 350F. Arrange the stuffed zucchinis in the baking pan, the sauce should be covering about 1/2 of the zucchinis. Bake for one hour and set aside to cool. Serve immediately.

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Recipe by

Jaron Kimhi

Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.

More recipes by Jaron →

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Categories
BeefRice
Cuisines
Mediterranean
Features
Ricemeat
Tags
stuffed vegetablesMediterranean

Questions & answers

Can I use regular zucchini instead of ball-shaped ones?
Absolutely — the recipe says regular zucchinis work just fine. Just hollow them out the same way, leaving about 1/2-inch of flesh on the sides.
Can I skip the Jerusalem artichokes if I can't find them?
The recipe doesn't offer a swap, so if you can't find them just leave them out — the stuffing is already packed with lamb, rice, and aromatics.
What can I use instead of fresh za'atar?
Fresh oregano — the recipe calls it out as a direct substitute, so grab that if za'atar isn't available.
Why shouldn't I pack the stuffing in too tightly?
The rice is only half-cooked when it goes in, so it keeps expanding in the oven — overstuff and you'll split the zucchini. Leave a little room.
Do I really need to roast the sauce vegetables at a different temperature than the final bake?
Yes — the sauce veg goes in at 250c/500F for 40 minutes to get properly roasted, then you drop the oven to 180c/350F for the final one-hour bake with the stuffed zucchinis. Two separate steps, two different temps.

Nutrition per serving

1 Zucchini
Serving size
290
Calories
14g
Fat
3g
Saturated
40mg
Cholesterol
170mg
Sodium