This is my grandma’s signature dish since the zucchini she harvests are very large. They grow along the fence on a compost pile at her dacha. The plant itself defines its own universe with huge yellow flowers that attract the butterflies and bees, small frogs hiding in the shade of the giant leaves. I can find them in Seattle only at the farmers’ market by the end of summer.
This dish is a big crowd -pleaser: zucchini rounds stuffed with pork and beef, grated onions and zucchini for extra juiciness, with bright red tomatoes and sour cream on top. Don’t forget a good loaf of bread for dipping!
Makes 6-8 portions
Cooking time: 20 minutes + 30 for baking
Ingredients:
- 1 large zucchini
- 2 onions
- 1-1.5 lbs. meatloaf mixture (equal parts of pork and beef)
- 4 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 small zucchini, grated (or a cup of cooked rice)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ grated cheese (optional)
- small bunch of parsley and dill (optional)
- 1 cup of water
- Salt
- Pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring to boil a large pot of water filled to 6 inches height. While the water is heating prepare the large zucchini: wash, slice about 2-inch height and scrape the inside seeds out. When the water stars boiling add 1 tbsp. of salt and cook zucchini pieces 3-4 at a time for 2-3 minutes. When they ready take them out of the pot and set in a deep baking dish.
Make the stuffing: combine ground meats, grated onion and grated small zucchini. Add salt, pepper and herbs to taste.
Stuff the zucchini, sprinkle diced tomatoes on top and spread 2-3 Tbs. of sour cream on each zucchini piece.
Add water to the baking dish about half each height. Cover with foil loosely and bake for 30 minutes. At the very end, remove the foil, sprinkle some cheese like cheddar or Gouda and broil
for a few minutes. Viola!
Leave a Reply