Stuffed Mediterranean Vegetables

 

Just recently I have seen a whole host of recipes for stuffed vegetables and it reminded me just how useful they can be for a mid-week or weekend meal. You can use almost any vegetable of your choice that’s suitable for stuffing in this recipe – try peppers/capsicums, baby squash, marrow or pumpkin or stick like I have to Mediterranean ones for traffic-light colour and variety.

 

I’ve used lamb mince but you can use beef, chicken, turkey, pork or a

vegetarian option; and rice but really any cooked grain (or small pasta shape like orzo) would also work fine. The breadcrumb and cheese topping is optional but does make the dish a little more hearty for non WLS eaters. Nutritional stats are for the dish without topping.

 

I have also cooked this dish in my Philips air-fryer with good results. Set at about 190-200 C – mine needed about 25-30 minutes to cook deliciously tender.

 

MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED VEGETABLES

Ingredients

METRIC/US

85 g/1/3 cup basmati rice

4 vegetables of your choice (peppers/capsicums, marrow, aubergines/eggplant, baby squash or pumpkin for example)

low-fat cooking spray or mist

1 onion, chopped

1 courgette/zucchini, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red pepper/capsicum, deseeded and chopped

2 tbsp dried mixed herbs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 x 400 g/14 oz cans chopped tomatoes

350 g/12 oz extra lean lamb mince/ground lean lamb

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Topping: (optional)

3 tbsp breadcrumbs

3 tbsp grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

 

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4.
2.  Cook the rice in boiling water for 10 minutes then drain.
3.  Meanwhile, cut the vegetables for stuffing in half lengthwise or cut off the tops according to type. Remove any flesh with a spoon and chop into small pieces. Retain any tops/lids.
4.  Generously spritz a large non-stick frying pan with low-fat spray or mist. Heat, add the chopped vegetables, onion, courgette/zucchini, garlic, red pepper/capsicum, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes until softened.
5.  Meanwhile, place the tomatoes in a large ovenproof dish that will hold the stuffed vegetables later and season well.
6.  Mix the rice with the cooked vegetable mixture, lamb, egg and parsley. Use to stuff the prepared vegetable cases then place in the dish nestling in the tomato sauce.
7.  If making the topping, mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese and sprinkle over the stuffed vegetables. 
8.  Replace the tops/lids and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until cooked through and tender. Serve hot with crusty bread if liked.

 

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION: ½-1

 

CALORIES PER PORTION: 350

PROTEIN: 31.5g

CARBOHYDRATE: 38.4g

FAT: 8.2g

 

Recipe adapted from and image courtesy of tastyeasylamb.co.uk