American Lamb Stuffed Zucchini with Rice in a Tomato Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Recipe provided by | TWO PURPLE FIGS

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INGREDIENTS

LAMB

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely diced

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1.5 pounds of ground American lamb

1 teaspoon Kosher salt (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon of pepper (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon of all spice

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/3 cup of minced fresh parsley

ZUCCHINI

8 small green zucchinis cut in half and hallowed

using a small spoon

1/4 teaspoon of salt

pinch of black pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil

YOGURT SAUCE

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 cup of canned diced tomatoes

2 cups of Greek yogurt (any fat concentration)

1 cup of veggie stock (or water)

2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons of fresh parsley minced

1 Tablespoon of fresh Oregano minced (optional)

TO SERVE

3 cups of cooked buttery fluffy rice
Toasted Baguette

DIRECTIONS

LAMB

Preheat a skillet on medium high heat with the olive oil. Add in the onions and sauté until soft (about 5 minutes), add in the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add in the lamb, and spices. Sauté the lamb for 8-10 minutes until cooked through. Add in the fresh parsley and turn off the heat. Give the mixture a quick stir and set aside.

ZUCCHINI

Preheat the oven to broil. Hallow the inside of each zucchini boat using a metal spoon just enough to hold in the lamb filling. Season the insides of the zucchini with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet and broil for 8 minutes until tender (but still has a bite to it). Allow to cool when done. Stuff the insides of the zucchinis with the lamb mixture and set aside.

YOGURT SAUCE

Sautee the garlic and diced tomatoes in a deep skillet with the olive oil. Sauté for 3 minutes until fragrant and the tomatoes start to lose most of the moisture. In a large bowl, add the yogurt, cornstarch and stock and whisk well until smooth and blended. Season the yogurt with salt and pepper. Then add the yogurt mixture to the tomato garlic skillet and keep the heat on medium. Keep whisking the sauce until it starts to simmer, lower the heat and keep simmering the sauce for 10 minutes over low heat. If the sauce is too thick, add 1/4 cup of stock while whisking it. If the sauce is too think, add in another 1/2 cup of Yogurt. Turn off the heat and add in the fresh herbs.

SERVE

Pour the sauce at the bottom of the serving plate and place the stuffed zucchini boats on top, then drizzle more sauce over the zucchini boats. Serve the zucchini boats with sauce over buttery rice and crusty bread. Enjoy!