I spent Sunday lunch with my BFF and her hubby, a lovely Greek doctor, who since whisking her off to Greece and back and immersing her in a culture so richly associated with family and food, has helped to transform her from a packet popper into the wonderful Greek domestic goddess she is now. S’s idea of cooking, and bless her, it was done with love, and even planning, was M&S pasta and sauce. But now she arrives triumphantly at my door with dishes of finely stuffed vegetables, lovely lentil soup and yoghurt pots of home-soaked, home-made black beans. This Sunday was no exception, and this dish was not only delicious but so authentic that the smell alone evoked memories of my Turkish grandmother’s cooking.
(The amounts are an approximation, and the method interpreted, so this may need some editing by S.)
Serves 4-6 depending on hunger and accompaniments
Ingredients
- 6 large courgettes (the Greeks and Turks use the paler versions that look more like mini marrows which you may find in a continental supermarket)
- Butter
- 1 onion
- About a cup of short grain rice
- A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 250g feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1×400g tin of tomatoes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Black pepper
Method
Top and tail the courgettes, then parboil them. This should take about 5 mins, so they are soft enough to handle but not break up whilst you do so. Drain the courgettes and scoop the flesh out the centre of each so you are left with a firm shell. Chop the flesh quite finely. You will only need about 2 thirds for the stuffing.
Grate the onion and fry in butter. Once the onion has softened add the chopped courgette flesh. Fry over a medium heat until dry – i.e. there is no oil or liquid left in the pan. Take off the heat and leave to cool briefly. Stir in the rice, parsley, feta and eggs.
Take each courgette shell and stuff with the mixture. Place them all like a jigsaw into the base of a shallow, wide pan with a lid (you will need to halve some of them). Mix the tin of tomatoes with all the olive oil and the sugar, and pour over the top. Season with black pepper. The salt from the feta should be enough but you may want to sprinkle a little over now too.
Place on the hob and bring to a simmer, put the lid on and turn the heat right down. Leave for at least an hour.
Serve with a crisp Greek salad and bread to sop up the oily, tomatoey juices.
Mate, I never thought I’d see the day… something from my kitchen on the word wide web, who’d've believed it eh? Still, I had to make it in the cooking department or I wouldn’t have this ring on my finger now – did you know Stelios’ first ever gift to me was a Greek cookery book! Bah.
Anyway, about the dish. Only thing I forgot to say is that you obviously only use about two thirds of the parboiled courgette flesh – does anyone have any good ideas as to what to do with the extra? It feels so wrong to scrape it into the bin. I tried adding it to a herby omelette once, but it didn’t really come to life.
You could always hide it in pasta sauce for the children – even harder to spot without the telltale green skin… cunning.
courgettes
Forgive my American ignorance; but what is a courgette?
ah so its an eggplant; right!
oh by the way; i thought marmite was a putely australien habit; i didn’t know the english eat it too
i finally tried it on a flight to melbourne; i will eat just about anything bu that really was the limit!
@Matthias – you Americans… (:)), courgettes are what you call zucchini – both stolen from countries with a superior cuisine…
And marmite is BRITISH, definitely. Vegemite is the Australian version and their various merits are hotly debated, intercontinentally. It’s an acquired taste…and really good with peanut butter too. Better than with jam. That’s jelly to you