Description
A hearty Mediterranean-inspired dish featuring zucchini halves stuffed with a savory mixture of ground lamb, feta cheese, pine nuts, fresh mint, and tomatoes, topped with seasoned breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese
Ingredients
Scale
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- 1 extra-large zucchini, halved lengthwise
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- 1 pound ground lamb
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- 1 sweet onion, chopped
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- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
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- 1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
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- 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
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- ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
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- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
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- ½ cup pine nuts
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- 1 tablespoon olive oil
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- ¼ cup water
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- Coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the Topping:
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- ¾ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
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- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
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- Preheat your oven to 450°F.
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- Cut and hollow out the zucchini. Slice lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Chop the pulp and keep it – we’ll use it in the filling.
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- Cook the base. Heat oil in a skillet and cook onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the lamb and chopped zucchini pulp, cooking until the meat browns. Season with salt and pepper.
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- Make the filling. Take the skillet off heat and mix in tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes, feta, pine nuts, and mint.
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- Stuff and bake. Put zucchini shells in a baking dish, fill with the lamb mixture, and add ¼ cup water to the dish. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
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- Add topping and finish. Mix breadcrumbs with mozzarella and sprinkle over zucchini. Bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
If your filling looks too wet, cook it longer before stuffing. If it’s dry, add more tomato sauce.
Don’t overstuff the zucchini or it’ll spill over while baking. I usually have a little filling left over that I eat with crackers.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stuffed zucchini half
- Calories: 385 per serving
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 890mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 26g
- Cholesterol: 85mg