This Greek-style stuffed zucchini is a recipe from the very early days of gerechtenweb.blog. I published the first version already on June 16, 2007. With bad photos, without recipe card and also without additional explanation. A remake was therefore more than necessary. And a translation in English of course. You will find more detailed instructions below the recipe. And some more information on orzo. This is the Greek pasta that looks like rice.
Greek style stuffed zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 zucchini
- 150 gram minced poultry
- 1 shallot
- pepper
- salt
- oregano
- 1 clove garlic
- 50 ml white wine
- 50 ml vegetable stock
for the bechamel sauce
- 25 gram butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 200 ml milk
- 50 gram Cheddar cheese grated
- 1 egg
- chili flakes optional
for the pasta
- 150 gram orzo
- 200 gram diced tomatoes
Instructions
preparation
- Halve the zucchini lengthwise and cook for 10 minutes.
- Then remove the zucchini from the cooking water and cook the orzo in the same water. Do this al dente, just below the time indicated on the package.
- Remove the pulp from the zucchini. Chop it finely and add it later to the meat.
- Finely chop the onion and clove of garlic.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the onion and garlic in it.
- Then add the poultry mince. Season with salt, pepper and oregano.
- Cook for a few minutes until the mincemeat is done. Then add the white wine and stock.
- Let this boil down now, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
for the bechamel sauce
- Melt the butter and then add the flour. Mix for a few minutes until the dough lifts from the bottom.
- Then add the milk and mix until you get a consistent sauce.
- Then add the Cheddar and optionally the chili flakes.
- Finally, mix an egg into the sauce.
final steps and finishing
- Preheat the oven to 210°C.
- Stuff zucchini with the minced meat. Finish with some grated cheese.
- Bake the stuffed zucchini in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes and the almost cooked Greek pasta to the remaining minced meat.
- Let this boil for a while.
- Arrange some of the bechamel sauce on a plate.
- Place the stuffed zucchini on top.
- Flank with the Greek pasta on both sides.
Nutrition
About Greek-style stuffed zucchini
These Greek-style stuffed zucchini is not really difficult to make. But it does contain different components and so you have to coordinate the steps for making it.
I always start with the water to cook the zucchini. Then I finely chop the onion and garlic. That way we have already finished cutting the vegetables. I bake them in oil for a few minutes. Then I add the minced meat to it.
When the zucchini are ready, I take them out of the boiling water and let them cool down a bit. Meanwhile, I let the orzo cook in the same cooking water. When the zucchini have cooled down, I hollow them out with a teaspoon. I finely chop the parts that I remove. Then I mix it back into the meat.
Now it is time to turn on the oven for preheating. Place the zucchini in the oven dish and then fill with the minced meat. Also put a good amount of grated cheese on top. A good tip: also put some grated cheese next to the zucchini. It then melts into a delicious cheese biscuit. You can use it for decorating your plate before serving.
While the zucchini are in the oven, you can prepare the béchamel sauce. However, this is an optional step. If you think this is too much work, you can leave it alone. I use it to fix the zucchini, so that it does not roll over.
Finally, mix the orzo with the leftover minced meat and diced tomatoes. I then arrange the stuffed zucchini on top of the cheddar béchamel sauce. I put some of the crispy cheese biscuits on top of them. Left and right I flank this with the Greek pasta.
about orzo
When you think of pasta, you immediately think of Italy. But orzo comes from Greece and is also called Greek pasta in our regions. Also further east, in Turkey and Arabia, this pasta in rice form is widely used. In Greece itself it is known as Kritharaki. In other countries the name risoni (or similar) is also often used.
The basis for orzo is barley, and it is shaped like medium-sized grains of rice. That is why it is often called Greek rice. You can also prepare it like rice, but with a ratio of 3 units of water to 1 unit of orzo.
More surprising.orzo
I love orzo. You can use it in pasta dishes , salads, as well as in rice dishes. You can even use it in a risotto. Some examples on surprising.recipes:
- vegetarian orzo soup
- Easy vegetarian Greek pasta salad
- Stuffed eggplant with minced poultry
- Mediterranean oven chicken
More information about orzo
If you are interested in reading more about orzo, you may have a look at the following articles:
- Wikipedia
- What is orzo? (thespruceeats.com)
- The difference between orzo and rice (southernliving.com)
- How to cook orzo (aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com)
- How to use risoni (taste.com.au)
- Kritharaki - a Greek pasta similar to orzo pasta (triedandsupplied.com)
If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.
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