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Greek Stuffed Zucchini in Egg Lemon Sauce (Avgolemono)

Greek Stuffed Zucchini in Egg Lemon Sauce (Avgolemono)

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  • Author: Eli K. Giannopoulos
  • Prep Time: 35 min
  • Cook Time: 70 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 portions 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Boiled
  • Cuisine: Greek

Description

Experience the classic flavors of Greece with this delicious and hearty Greek Stuffed Zucchini in Egg Lemon Sauce (Avgolemono)! It combines ground beef or lamb, rice, onion, herbs and spices for an incredibly flavorful stuffing topped with creamy egg lemon sauce!


Ingredients

Scale

For the Greek stuffed Zucchini

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion
  • salt
  • 500g ground beef (approx. 1 lb/ 18 oz.)
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 3 tbsp white rice
  • 125ml white wine (1/2 cup)
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnishing
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 large zucchini 
  • 1 large potato 

For the egg lemon sauce

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • juice of 2 lemons


Instructions

For the Greek stuffed Zucchini

  1. Heat the oil in the bottom of a large skillet or frying pan set over a medium high heat and gently fry the onion, peeled and finely chopped with a pinch of salt until soft and starting to colour.
  2. Add the beef and fry for about 10 minutes, breaking it up with the wooden spoon until it is cooked through and has browned in places.
  3. Add the garlic, peeled and crushed along with the rice. Cook for another minute until the garlic is aromatic and the rice grains have heated through.
  4. Add the white wine and turn the heat down to low. Allow the wine to bubble away completely. 
  5. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the herbs, spices and a generous amount of black pepper. Check for seasoning and set aside to cool a little.
  6. Top and tail the zucchini and slice them into three equal pieces. Using a very sharp knife and a long handled spoon – an ice cream spoon works well for this – or an apple corer, hollow out the zucchini pieces to create tubes with 1/2 cm (0.3 inch) sides.
  7. Stand the zucchini up to create a honeycomb pattern in a lidded saucepan where they fit snuggly. To make sure they stand up straight with their cut bottoms flush to the bottom of the pan, and to make sure they can’t fall over during cooking cut up pieces of potato to wedge between them to keep them upright.
  8. Using a small spoon, fill each zucchini tube with the beef mixture. You want this to be quite tightly packed, but not so much that the rice does not have a chance to expand.
  9. Pour cold water into the pan so it reaches half way up the zucchini tubes and salt the water well. Set it over a medium high heat to bring the water to the boil before turning it down to a low simmer. Simmer for 30-40 minutes with the lid on, or until the zucchini are just tender. 
  10. Using tongs, carefully remove the zucchini from the pan, setting aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper to capture any extra moisture. 

For the egg lemon sauce

  1. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks with the cornstarch into a thick paste, and gradually whisk in the lemon juice. Set aside.
  2. Strain the remaining cooking liquid and slowly whisk 200ml (2/3 cup) into the egg mixture.
  3. Pour the mixture into the saucepan and return it to the low heat. Warm through the egg sauce, whisking often until it has thickened substantially, and will coat the stuffed zucchini when poured over the top.
  4. Serve the stuffed zucchini warm or at room temperature with the freshly made sauce poured over the top and with an extra sprinkling of fresh dill. Enjoy!

Keywords: greek stuffed zucchini, Greek stuffed zucchini avgolemono