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Syrian Stuffed Zucchini with Dried Fruit

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A symbolic dish to begin the new year.

  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Units

For the zucchini:

  • 8 medium zucchini, lightly peeled so that the zucchini looks striped, and cored. Leave ¼-inch-thick shell all around the cored center of the zucchini
  • ½ lb ground beef
  • 1 cup rice (not precooked), soaked in hot water for 1 hour, and then drained
  • 1 tsp Arabic allspice (available in specialty or spice stores)
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

For the sauce:

  • 1 ½ cups of water
  • 4 Tbsp tamarind sauce
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 8 dried Turkish apricots
  • 8 dried pitted prunes

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Mix the ground beef, rice, allspice and salt with your hands and stuff the mixture into the center of the zucchini so that it is 3/4 full. (You can keep the raw, stuffed zucchini in the freezer until you are ready to cook them.)
  3. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. Sear the stuffed zucchini over medium heat until they brown a bit. Place the browned, stuffed zucchini in a baking dish.
  4. Mix all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Pour over the zucchini and bake, covered, until juices have cooked down and meat is tender, about 2 hours.

Notes

  • You can keep the raw, stuffed zucchini in the freezer until you are ready to cook them (see Step Two).
  • Tamarind sauce is available in speciality stores.
  • Author: Alicia Assa
  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 2 hours
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Sephardi