Stuffed Courgettes, Aubergines and Peppers

There are a variety of vegetables that can be stuffed with either minced meat or a mix of rice and minced meat; also with rice and herbs in the vegan/vegetarian version.

In Lebanon the vegetables used are courgettes, aubergines, sweet peppers, cabbage leaves, vine leaves, Swiss chard leaves, tomatoes and potatoes.

The amount of meat and rice to use in the stuffing is mainly to your liking. Personally, I like to use more meat and less rice whereas some people might like the contrary.

For the courgettes, you have to use the Mediterranean variety which are short and gray green (check photo). The longer and darker green courgettes, such as zucchini, are not advisable as they get mushy.

And, for both the courgettes and the baby aubergines, you need a corer. In Lebanon they use a special corer (see photo). You may find it in the Middle Eastern stores. Otherwise, you can use the apple corer.

NB: to make this dish richer, you can add some lamb chops that are slightly fried then placed under the stuffed vegetables and cooked together.

Ingredients

• 10 small courgettes or aubergines (or a mix of both) and 2 peppers
• 250g of minced lamb or beef
• Half cup of basic white rice, washed and drained
• 1 tsp of tomato purée, 1 tsp of dried mint, 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt (in the stuffing)
• Also add to the stuffing 1/2 tsp of each of the following spices: allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg and turmeric
• 400g of peeled tinned tomatoes + 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• Organic chicken stock cube, diluted in water
• 2 or 3 tbsp of olive oil
• A squeeze of lemon
• 2 tbsp of dried mint
• Salt & pepper for the tomato sauce

Method