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Vegetarian Stuffed Round Zucchini

NOTES: If you dislike quinoa’s bitter taste, there are two ways to get rid of it: rinsing or toasting the quinoa before cooking it.For 1 cup of uncooked quinoa, you’ll want to use 2 cups of water—this will yield 3 cups of cooked quinoa. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the temperature to medium-low and pop the lid on securely. If you want more flavourful quinoa, you can replace water with a veggie or a chicken stock. How you can tell it’s almost ready: The quinoa should get fluffy, and the little tail-like bits will start to pull away from the seed.When ready, your quinoa should smell nutty and be very easy to fluff with the tines of a fork—if there’s still liquid at the bottom of the saucepan, give it a little more time on the heat, uncovered.

Course dinner, Lunch, main
Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean
Keyword stuffed vegetables, vegetarian
PREP TIME 30 minutes
COOK TIME 1 hour 10 minutes
SERVES 4

Ingredients

  • 8 round zucchini
  • ¼ cup extra virgin Greek olive oil divided
  • 2/3 cup long-grain white rice
  • 1 1/3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 large shallots minced
  • 1 red or yellow onion finely chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb trimmed and minced
  • 3 large clove garlic minced
  • 3 fresh plum tomatoes seeded and diced
  • ⅔ cup corn kernels frozen and defrosted are fine
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill
  • Greek sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F/170°C.
  2. Slice the tops off the round zucchini and scoop out the middle using a teaspoon or mellon baller. Make sure to leave about a quarter inch thickness for the hollowed out round shell so that the zucchini retains its shape. Chop the insides of the zucchini and set aside.
  3. Place the hollowed out zucchini in a baking dish. Season the insides lightly with salt and pepper and place open side down in the dish. Let them stand until ready to fill.
  4. Meanwhile, place the rice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and vegetable broth in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until the rice is tender but al dente and a little undercooked, about 10 minutes. Don’t worry if there is still some liquid in the pot. Set aside.
  5. While the rice cooks, add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, fennel, onion and garlic to the pan and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
  6. Next, add the reserved chopped insides of the zucchini to the skillet and sauté until the moisture fully cooks out, about 7-8 minutes. Add the corn kernels and toss to combine.
  7. Add the chopped herbs to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
  8. In a large mixing bowl or in the skillet, combine the rice and the vegetable mixture. Gently stir in the diced plum tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  9. Spoon the filling into the round zucchini shells, top with the zucchini caps, drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil (or more, as desired). Pour a half cup of water or broth into the baking dish. Cover with parchment and aluminum foil, or with the lid, if there is one, and bake for about 45 minutes, until the zucchini is fork tender.