Hello Lovelies, summer time always means zucchini time as well. So I'm happy to present you with a delicious recipe for this versatile summer vegetable: Filled zucchini with lentils and orzo. As I already told you in my recipe for the chocolate cake with zucchini I have kind of a love/hate relationship with zucchini. And my parents needed a little trick when I was a child to persuade me to like zucchini in the end and now I really love it. I'm a bit more lucky with that, my girls liked it from the beginning.
But to give them some different options, I'm always looking for new and creative ways to serve zucchini so that the whole family would enjoy it. Especially now in summer, when we have zucchini in the garden and also get a lot from my parents in law, I want to make them when they are fresh and delicious.
So today's recipe is a combination with lentils and orzo (Kritharaki), the little greek noodles made of wheat semolina. Gratinated with some vegan cheese in the oven, easy, quick and really delicious with a hearty tomato sauce.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
- 3 midsized zucchini
- 1 onion
- 1 garlic glove
- 1 stick of celery
- 1 carrot
- 150 gr red lentils
- 200 gr Orzo Kritharaki
- 2 Tbsp tomato puree
- 200 ml veggie bouillon
- 100 ml red wine
- 1 can/jar of tomatoes in pieces ca. 400 ml
- 1 pinch of sugar
- fresh herbs rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
- vegan cheese
Instructions
- Cut the Zucchini in half (lengthwise) and carve out some of the flesh with a spoon
- Season with salt and pepper and set aside on a baking ban
- Cut the flesh in pieces and set aside
- Chop the onion and garlic and sauté in olive oil until translucent
- Chop up the sellery and carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes
- Add the lentils and sauté them quickly
- Add the tomato puree
- Deglaze with the red wine (if you don't want to use wine, just add 100 ml bouillon more)
- Add the bouillon and the tomatoes as well as the orzo noodles
- Add in the leftover inside flesh of the zucchini and a pinch of sugar
- Let simmer on medium heat until the liquid is reduced and the lentils and noodles are well done (ca. 10-15 minutes)
- Preheat the oven to 180 degree
- Chop the fresh herbs and mix them under
- Season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika
- Fill the mixture into the zucchini half, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes
The filled zucchini are perfect for any summer day lunch, light dinner or also go well as side dish for a bbq. We had them again the following day and they still tasted so delicious. And its another good way to use lentils more in your diet, I try to integrate them as much as possible. Like all legumes, lentils are real power houses: they are packed with more protein than any other plant based food. And in addition they are low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals. They contain mainly the important B vitamins (B1, B2, B6 und Biotin), as well as vitamin E, folic acid and important minerals as magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
I know that a lot of you are always looking for recipes to use zucchini and lentils and I hope you will like this recipe as much as my family did! Don't forget to tag me in your picture, if you make one of my recipes.
Love Verena
This post is also available in: deutsch
