With our diet-minders urging this nation’s consumers to consume substantially more vegetables and grains than is our wont, I want to urge home cooks to consider stuffing vegetables before they eat them.
What I have in mind is not the outsized, calorie-stuffed, doubled-baked potatoes found in steakhouses.
No, I’m thinking of the brightly colored, flavorful stuffed vegetables of various countries that border on the Mediterranean Sea. I’m also thinking that our weather in late July is as close as it comes to that of the Mediterranean, while the profusion of vegetables that summer delivers here has begun.
I’ve created a trio of stuffed vegetable recipes, and many more are to be found in the plethora of Mediterranean cookbooks available in bookstores and libraries.
But I urge you to use them only as guides, because few categories of foodstuffs are more flexible, more welcoming to the substitution of ingredients at hand, more receptive to changes in proportion. The chopped interior of the vegetable itself can be the base of a stuffing; minute amounts of leftover meat, poultry or seafood can be woven in without embarrassment. The full range of herbs and spices awaits your bidding, while grains other than rice can be employed to create distinct textures and flavors.
Cooking methods may vary as well. Steaming, baking and grilling come readily to mind, while the microwave oven offers the possibility of cooked vegetable shells that retain some crunch.
In sum, have fun.
ZUCCHINI STUFFED WITH SHRIMP
Two or four servings
4 medium zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/3 cup peeled and chopped raw shrimp (about 10 medium)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup cooked rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise and, using a melon-baller or grapefruit knife, remove most of the pulp. Chop the pulp and reserve.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the green onion, basil, parsley and curry powder. Cook and stir over medium heat until onion softens, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the chopped pulp and tomato, increase the heat and cook until soft. Add the shrimp and stir until pink and barely firm, 1 1/2 minutes. Off the heat, add the lemon juice and rice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. When the filling has cooled, spoon it into the four zucchini boats. Transfer to a baking pan. (Recipe can be done ahead to this point. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 10 minutes before cooking.)
4. Bring water to a boil in a teakettle. Pour into the baking pan to the depth of 1 inch. Cover the pan with foil wrap and bake 18 to 20 minutes. Remove zucchini from the pan and serve, warm or at room temperature,
1 or 2 per person.
BELL PEPPERS WITH LAMB AND COUSCOUS
Two servings
2 green or red bell peppers
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup chopped onion
4 ounces ground lamb
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup chopped tomato
3/4 cup cooked couscous
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1. Cut the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds and ribs. Reserve the tops.
2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil with the onion. When the onion is soft, about 2 minutes, add the lamb. Stir and break up the meat with a fork until it is no longer red. Add the garlic, thyme, coriander and cardamom, stir for a minute, then add the tomato. Cook until the tomato softens, 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in the couscous. Season liberally with black pepper and stir in the mint.
3. Allow mixture to cool, then spoon half into each pepper. Cover with the reserved tops. (Recipe can be done ahead to this point. Place peppers in a microwave-safe casserole dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until 10 minutes before cooking.)
4. To cook, pour water into the casserole to the depth of 1/4 inch. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 6 minutes. Or, cover pan with foil and bake in a 400-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
POBLANO PEPPERS STUFFED WITH SHRIMP, KASHA AND RICOTTA CHEESE
Two appetizer servings
2 poblano peppers
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup peeled and chopped raw shrimp
1/4 cup kasha
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Roast the peppers over a gas flame or under a broiler, turning until they are blackened all over. Let cool, then scrape off the blackened skin.
2. Cut a slit in the side of each pepper; carefully remove the seeds. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the onion, parsley, coriander and ginger and stir until the onion softens, about 2 1/2 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir until pink and barely firm, about 1 minute. Stir in the kasha, ricotta, salt and pepper until well blended.
4. Fill each pepper with half the filling. Place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. (Recipe can be done ahead to this point. Refrigerate until 10 minutes before cooking.)
5. To cook, place in a microwave oven and heat on 50 percent power for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
