This zucchini stuffed with ground meat and rice is in our top ten list of our kitchen. As I wrote before, zucchini is not our favorite vegetable and we always look for some different recipes for it. However, this stuffed one is an exception. This is one of the most common traditional Turkish dishes and we adore it so much that I often make it. I should have put it here before, but we were so impatient to wait for taking a photo when I made it. I made it at night this time not to eat it before the photos as we take photos during day.
Kabak Dolmasi
Ingredients (servings: 2)
- 4 middle sized zucchinis
- 1 tomato
- 2 onions, diced
- ¼ cup rice
- 150g ground meat
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (1 for filling, 1 for sauce)
- 1 lemon, squeezed
- A few leaves of dill, minced
- A few leaves of fresh mint, minced
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Wash the zucchinis and cut them into two. Then grab a small spoon and scoop out their pulp. The walls of zucchinis shouldn’t be too thick or too thin (about ¼ inch). Sprinkle a pinch of salt inside each of them.
For the filling; Mix diced onions, rice, ground meat, 1 tbsp tomato paste, lemon juice, minced dill and fresh mint, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp salt and black pepper in a bowl.
Stuff the zucchinis with this mixture, but be careful, it shouldn’t be too tight because when rice and ground meat cook, they’ll get bigger. You can gently press on the filling while stuffing the zucchinis. Place each stuffed zucchini upright in a large pot.
Slice the tomato and put a slice on each stuffed zucchini to cover the filling mixture.
Dilute 1 tbsp tomato paste with water and pour it into the pot. Then pour some water (shouldn’t cover the zucchini, leave it when the water reaches the middle of zucchinis). Cover the lid on the pot, put it over the lowest heat and cook it for about 1 and a half hour.
You can serve it with some yogurt and garnish with dill leaves.
Spring Flower
We went to Turgutreis/Bodrum last weekend and we had great time there as Spring had already come there. Here, we still have cold weather, so we can’t feel that we’re in spring months. One day we wake up and we feel the warmth of Spring, the other day we wake up to a very cold day. We’ve been witnessing a very changeable climate these days, which is a bit fearsome. So when we went to there, we inhaled the Spring hapiness. There were so many lovely flowers that I spent a lot of time watching and taking photos of them. I wish I had the ability of drawing and painting these beauties. I believe that these fantastic flowers will be propitious for this blog. I want to share them with you. This one is an example.
21 Comments on "Stuffed Zucchini"
Zerrin, these are the most gorgeous zucchini I’ve ever seen! How delicious! I’ve never tried a stuffed one and i must try your recipe very soon!
This dish looks so good, the upclose photos make everything so tempting. I love stuffed zucchini and will make this dish later in the season – I am expecting a big delivery of the veggies soon.
The spring flower you show is bursting with color and declares spring like nothing else.
This sounds delicious with the tomato paste, lemon, and dill! I actually really like zucchini, so I have to try this.
Natasha- Stuffed zucchini is the best of all zucchini recipes! You won’t regret when you try.
Oyster- Not just in the photos, but the stuffed zucchinis themselves were so tempting that we finished all of them at once.
Lisa- Lemon and dill are the ingredients that enhance this stuffed zucchini more.
Zerrin, az once aksam yemeginden kalktik ve tahmin et ne yedik? Evet evet..dogru tahmin ettin, kabak dolmasi! Senin yaptigin dolmalar da mukemmel gorunuyorlar. Yani yeni yemis olmasam, kaldirip dolma yaptiracak kadar guzel gorunuyorlar. Fotograflar harika. Ellerine saglik.
this look great! they remind me of a stuffed pepper, but way better because I never like the pepper part of those. haha. They are gorgeous too!
wow… that a new way of stuffing zucchinis. (to me at least) Simple stuffing, too. Delicious!!
Wow, this stuffed zucchini looks delicious…great pictures!
I’m hoping to grow zucchini/courgette again this year and if they come good for me, I will certainly try stuffing some of them like this!
This are very tempting. Would be nice to check them up to taste the mix of lemon juice, dill and mint. Thanks for a new recipe.
These stuffed zucchini remind me of the stuffed peppers we love. Great comfort food.
Hi Zerrin!!! I love stuffed zucchini!!!! You gave me a great idea for today!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
MMMMM….Zerrin! these stuffed courgettes look so lovely & delicious!! Beautyful pictures too!! MMMMM……love them so much!!
I love the way you stuffed these. I always cut them in half the other way. So gorgeous. It’s to late to make this for dinner tonight, but definitely for tomorrow.
As always that looks so good, I can’t stand it. Man I would love to come live at your house and let you cook for me. I left an award for you over at my blog go get it!!
These stuffed zucchinis look delicious – it almost makes me sorry that we are not planting any this year. Of course, that won’t stop me from buying it at the market!
The outside of the zucchini look ridged – did you score them or are they naturally like that?
The flower is a spot of sunshine!
I love this, it looks so yummy, I have seen stuffed veg recipes but never tried myself. I am tempted to try : )
When my daughter’s BabaAnne was here a couple of years ago, we made dolma together, and it was an assortment of eggplant, peppers, zucchini. I didn’t get a recipe–she had already made the filling, but I noted that when the vegetables were sliced, the filling stayed inside the circle of the vegetable slice–like in your picture. This looks like an easy recipe I hope to try soon.
This is so easy! As far as I remember you are doing very well with several Turkish dishes, so this will be a piece of cake for you. Kisses to your cute daughter!
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