Stuffed Courgettes with Beef, Pine Nuts and Pomegranate
These stuffed zucchini (a.k.a. courgettes) are a warming burst of sunshine on a cold weekend evening. Don’t be intimidated about stuffing vegetables; it’s a lot easier than it sounds. I take a simple apple corer and work my way carefully down flesh of each cylinder removing the soft flesh and seeds. Then I prod the insides with a chopstick to remove any remains.
Stuffed Courgettes with Beef, Pine Nuts and Pomegranate
Ingredients
6 small zucchini a.k.a courgettes
250g of minced beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of pine nuts
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
For the sauce
1 tin of tomatoes
1 small cup of hot water
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
Method
Core the zucchini, removing the flesh and seeds. Meanwhile toast the pine nuts.
Fry the onions in olive oil with salt until translucent. Add the garlic and mince beef, and stir until the meat begins to brown. Stir in the tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of the pomegranate molasses, cinnamon and pine nuts and season to taste.
Stuff each zucchini cylinder with the meat mixture, pressing and packing it with a chopstick. Lay the zucchini in a tightly-fitting oven dish.
In a bowl, mix the tomatoes with the hot water, grated garlic and 1 tablespoon of the molasses. Pour over the zucchini, spooning over the top of any uncovered parts of the vegetables.
Cover the dish with aluminium foil and cook at 180C for 40 minutes. Serve hot with some rice and optionally a dollop of greek yoghurt.