Pulneni Tikvichki (Stuffed Zucchini with Rice and Meat)
Zucchini halves hollowed out and packed with a rice, ground meat, and carrot filling, then baked sitting in a shallow pool of tomato sauce and water - that surrounding liquid is what lets the rice fully cook through and soften inside the shell, rather than staying undercooked and grainy the way it would baking dry.
⏱ 75 min🍽 4 servings
dinner
Ingredients
- •4 medium zucchini
- •1/2 lb ground pork or beef
- •1/2 cup rice
- •1 onion, finely chopped
- •1 carrot, grated
- •2 tomatoes, grated, divided
- •2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- •1 tsp chubritsa (savory)
- •1 tsp paprika
- •3 tbsp vegetable oil
- •1 cup water
- •Salt to taste
- •Pepper to taste
Steps
- 1.Halve the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the centers with a spoon, leaving a shell about 1/2-inch thick. Finely chop the scooped-out flesh and set aside.
- 2.Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and carrot for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the chopped zucchini flesh and cook for 3-4 minutes more.
- 3.Stir in the ground meat and cook, breaking it up, until browned. Add the rice, half the grated tomatoes, paprika, chubritsa, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes to combine - the rice stays raw here and finishes cooking in the oven with the surrounding liquid.
- 4.Preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange the zucchini shells in a baking dish and fill each one generously with the meat and rice mixture, mounding it slightly.
- 5.Pour the remaining grated tomato and the water into the bottom of the dish around the zucchini, not over the filling - this surrounding liquid is what steams the rice fully tender inside the shells instead of leaving it crunchy.