Zucchini baked with minced meat in the oven is a self-sufficient dish that does not require a side dish, since it includes both vegetable and meat components, which combine perfectly. There are several options for serving food, depending on the situation and the size of the zucchini. It can be stuffed by cutting along in half and getting "boats" or by cutting in columns of 5-6 cm and placing it vertically. As for the filling itself, then you can fantasize endlessly, depending on the availability of certain products and the culinary preferences of the cook himself.
Zucchini with minced meat
This method of cooking can be considered classic, since there are few products used. But this does not mean that it will turn out tasteless. Perhaps not too elegant, but it is not a shame to put such a dish on the festive table. Before baking zucchini with minced meat in the oven, you should prepare the products. For 1.5 kg of young (but not very small) zucchini, take 300 g of ground beef, half a glass of rice, salt and pepper to taste, a glass of water, a little vegetable oil for frying, a glass of sour cream, flour, herbs, a couple of onions, 150 g of solid cheese.
First, rice is cooked according to the instructions on the package and left to cool. Then prepare the zucchini. They must be washed and cut off the tips. Then they are divided into 2-3 parts across to get "barrels" of approximately equal size. Using a spoon, remove the middle, leaving the bottom. Chop the core and fry in vegetable oil along with finely chopped onions. Zucchini is boiled in salt water for 3-4 minutes, and then cooled.
In the minced meat, add rice, onions with fried core, salt, pepper and stir. The resulting mixture is filled with boiled zucchini and set them in a deep baking sheet or baking dish. Then a sauce is prepared from flour, water and sour cream, with which zucchini is poured, sprinkled with grated cheese and placed in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes. When served, they are decorated with greens.
How to bake zucchini with minced meat in the oven - the fastest option
If time is very short and you need to urgently prepare a tasty hearty dish, this recipe is suitable. You don’t have to boil anything, scrape it with a spoon or stuff it - everything is much simpler. All you need is an average zucchini, 300 g of any minced meat, 100 g of cheese, a little salt, mayonnaise, onion and 3 tomatoes. If there is greens, it is also useful. Zucchini must be washed and cut into rings, as for regular frying. Then the rings are laid out in a pre-greased form, the minced meat is mixed with finely chopped onions, herbs and mayonnaise, and salted to taste. Form small cutlets and spread on zucchini. Tomatoes are washed, cut into rings and placed on top. Before baking zucchini with minced meat in the oven, you need to sprinkle it with grated cheese, and when the dish is ready, decorate with greens.
How to bake zucchini with minced meat in the shape of boats
This dish turns out portioned. 150 g of minced meat, a spoon of sour cream, a small onion, vegetable oil, salt, bay leaf, ground pepper, 30 g of cheese are taken for 1 zucchini (2 servings). A smooth young zucchini is washed, dried, cut in half and spooned out the middle, which can be cut and added to the stuffing. Finely chop the onion, mix it with meat, and salt (the core of zucchini will also go there). The boats are stuffed, laid out in a deep form and poured with sour cream diluted with boiling water. Salt and spices are added to this sauce. Each boat is sprinkled with grated cheese on top and baked for 40 minutes. Bon appetit!