STUFFED ZUCCHINI AVGOLEMONO (GREEK STYLE)
Yield:
6
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchinis
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ cup Arborio rice
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and quartered
- 4 cups chicken broth
For the Avgolemono Sauce:
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of 1-2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- Salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F, 200°C.
- If your zucchinis are very large, cut each one into 2 equal pieces. Then, cut each zucchini piece in half, lengthwise and scoop out the pulp leaving a ¼ inch border all around. Set the pulp aside in a bowl to use in the filling.
- Place the zucchinis in a large baking dish.
- Cook the onions and the garlic in the olive oil over medium low heat for about 10-15 minutes or until they are soft and golden.
- Add the ground beef and zucchini pulp. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook over medium heat about 15 minutes or until the zucchini breaks down and the meat is cooked.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Remove from heat and add rice along with chopped parsley and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well.
- Season the potato wedges with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano and add them to the baking dish.
- Fill the zucchinis with the meat filling.
- Pour 2 cups of the chicken broth in the baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for 1 and ½ hours.
- Remove the pan from the oven and set aside.
- Place some of the potatoes and a zucchini from the baking pan onto a plate and pour about 2 cups of the liquid from the pan into the small pot holding the simmering broth. Place the potatoes and zucchini back in the baking pan.
- To make the Lemony sauce, whisk the egg yolks, cornstarch, dill, and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth. Add some of the simmering broth to the egg lemon mixture and whisk well to temper it.
- Add the egg lemon mixture to the broth and cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes or until thickened and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Pour the lemony sauce over the zucchini and potatoes and serve with some toasted bread.
- Enjoy!
Can I use brown rice instead of Arborio rice? Also, for health reasons, we try to limit/reduce sodium. What would you suggest in place of the chicken broth?
Yes, you may use brown rice, however, I suggest cooking it ahead of time and then, adding it to the zucchini. As for the chicken broth, the best thing to do is to make your own so that way you can control the salt and second-best would be to purchase low-sodium broth or salt-free broth from the market, if they sell it. Hope this helps 🙂
Hi Dimitra: Just looked at your STUFFED ZUCCHINI AVGOLEMONO and saw there was an image of your lovely apple tart as main pic. There was an insert video of how to make the Stuffed Zucchini Avgolemono so that was good. There were no comments and I thought it may have been because the image was not the same as the recipe. Because it looks so good I’m sure I’ll love it!! Thanks for all your Greek recipes. I love cooking Greek in Katoomba, Australia /\
When I select Zucchini avgolemeno it shows your apple tart photo. You may want to check it out to see if the link is bad.