Ingredients for Lamb Stuffed Mini Vegetables
For the Vegetables:
- 10 zucchinis mini
- 10 eggplants mini
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral - flavored oil for frying
- 4 potatoes cut into ½-inch (1 cm) slices
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tablespoon mint leaves dried
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2-3 cups water boiling
For the Stuffing:
- 5 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 cups round rice
- 10.5 ounces (300 grams) lamb leg or shoulder, chopped (not ground)
- a handful parsley chopped
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Salt
Instructions
Prepare the Filling:
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1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and sauté the onions for 4-5 minutes over a high flame until they start to brown. Set aside to cool.
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2. Rinse the rice well in a colander until the water it releases turns clear. Drain well.
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3. Mix the rice with the sautéed onions, 3 tablespoons of oil, meat, parsley, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
Stuff the Vegetables:
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4. Remove the stems and tops of the eggplants and zucchinis and scoop out the flesh using a knife or melon baller. Leave a bit of the flesh on the sides of the vegetables. Stuff the zucchinis and eggplants with the meat mixture, up to ¾ of their height.
Make the sauce and cook the vegetables:
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5. Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown both sides of the eggplants and zucchinis over a high flame (if the skillet is not large enough, sauté just a few at a time). Using a slotted spoon, remove and transfer to a dish lined with parchment paper.
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6. Cover the bottom of a large and flat oven-safe pan with the potato slices. Place the stuffed eggplants and zucchinis on top of them.
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7. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: in a bowl, mix the lemon juice, garlic, dried mint leaves, salt and pepper and pour the mixture into a pan. Add enough boiling water so the sauce covers half of the height of the vegetables. Bring to a boil and continue cooking uncovered for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit. In the meantime, heat the oven to 210ºF (100ºC).
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8. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Bake for 4 to 8 hours (the longer they bake, the more tender the vegetables and meat will be). Serve hot with the cooked sauce, or cold with a yogurt sauce (see the recipe below).
Keeps up to 3 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Basic yogurt sauce: mix 2 containers of goats’ yogurt, 2-4 crushed garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon salt, a handful of chopped mint leaves, ½ cup of olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour over the stuffed vegetables.
Variation: for a kosher version, serve the stuffed vegetables without the yogurt sauce.
This recipe is courtesy of Hashulchan.