Greek Stuffed Zucchini Kolokithakia Yemista Avgolemono Recipes

Steps:

• Cut zucchini into 1/2s or 1/3s, cored on one end (the other end is left intact) and remove filing carefully with corer so that a not-too-thick wall of zucchini remains to contain the filling, keep 1/2 the zucchini flesh removed from the coring, minced (not the shells- but the actual part of the zucchini that was removed, the other half makes a lovely omelette with a bit of parmesan for another meal!).
• You can prepare your zucchini from the previous day and keep, wrapped, in the refrigerator- this actually makes a lot less work on the day of preparation as it's the coring of the zucchini that takes up the most time.
• Mix the meats, onion, garlic, rice, parsley and zucchini in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stuff this mixture into the opening of the one end of each zucchini piece and make sure the filling goes all the way into the vegetable.
• Level opening neatly so that no filling comes out.
• Layer the filled zucchini pieces in a big pot and add enough boiling water to just cover.
• Put in the stock cubes and the butter and cover.
• Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour (knife tip should slip into a piece easily), and take off heat.
• Carefully remove the zucchini pieces with a slotted spoon and place on a reheatable serving dish.
• Strain the cooking liquid left in the pot to remove any pieces of zucchini or grains of rice that may be floating around.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the cornstarch and lemon juice (add the juice of 1 lemon at this point).
• Slowly ladle in (literally the thinnest of streams) your hot cooking liquid, whisking the eggs all the while so they don't curdle.
• Keep doing this till nearly all the cooking liquid has been used and then pour your egg mixture and any cooking liquid left back into the pot and heat on a low flame until the sauce has thickened.
• Taste, if it needs more lemon, add up to 1/2 more.
• This is what is called an'Avgolemono Sauce' (Egg-lemon Sauce)- it is delicious.
• When ready to serve, put 2-3 piping hot pieces of the stuffed zucchini on each plate and nap with the sauce.
• Serve with feta cheese on the side (you won't believe how good a nibble of feta tastes with each bite of this!), good, crusty bread (you want to get all the sauce), and wine.

Steps:

• 1. Rinse the zucchini and cut off the stem end. Carefully cut off a slice from the other end to use later as a cap. With a grapefruit spoon or melon baller hollow out the zucchini and chop the flesh.
• 2. To make the stuffing warm ½ the olive oil in a deep frying pan and toss in the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add the finely chopped flesh of the zucchini and stir fry them for another 2-3 minutes. Finally add the minced meat and let it cook completely - (meat no longer pink). Add the rice, parsley, half of the lemon juice and salt and pepper.
• 3. Stuff the zucchini up to ¾. Do not fill them completely so the stuffing will have room to expand while cooking. Cover with the slice you cut off earlier to use as cap. Arrange them side by side in a deep saucepan and if you want fill in the gaps with the potato wedges. That's a trick I learned when my kids were young and weren't too keen on eating zucchini. So I had to find a way to intrigue them:) The deal was with every potato wedge they had to have half a stuffed zucchini. It worked so well they both love zucchini, any how it's cooked:)
• 4. Sprinkle with the remaining olive oil and add enough water to cover the zucchini just above their middle. Season to taste. Put the lid on, bring to the boil and then simmer over medium heat for about 30min until the rice has cooked and if using potatoes, til those are tender. Turn off the heat (if overcooked, the zucchini will become too soft and the rice sticky).
• 5. To make the Avgolemono (Egg-Lemon) sauce: Whisk the eggs (both whites & yolks) and then add remaining lemon juice, a little at a time, while still whisking. Slowly add a couple of ladlesful warm cooking liquid to the egg mixture. Pour the sauce over the food. Holding the casserole by its handles, shake it gently from side to side. If necessary reheat very slowly without covering or boiling. Serve immediately. Enjoy! Kali Orexi!
• 6. Tip: If you want to thicken the sauce, in a small bowl mix a couple of Tbps of cornstartch with a some water or cooled liquid from the pot. Mix well and add to the pot and then gently shake the post from side to side.

Steps:

• Slightly brown the meat, drain if needed.
• Add the seasonings.
• Cook onions and the garlic in the olive oil.
• Add wine and tomato then cook your mixture 30 minute.
• Let it cool slightly, then quickly stir in the egg whites and bread crumbs.
• Set aside while preparing the zucchini.
• Trim both ends of the zucchini and slice in halves lengthwise.
• Parboil them for 3 minutes in salted water.
• Carefully, remove onto paper towels and drain.
• Place into an oiled, flat roasting pan.
• Scoop out the centers discarding the pulp.
• Spoon the meat filling into the shells.
• Top each with bread crumbs, moistened with oil or butter.
• Sprinkle with the grated cheese over all.
• Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until crumbs are golden and the zucchini are very tender.