Stuffed zucchini

Cooking enthusiast and food-footographer Svetlana Ellie shared with us a recipe of her favorite squash dish. It will serve as a good alternative for golubtsy (minced meat wrapped in cabbage leaves - translators note). The filling used here is basically the same: minced meat, rice, vegetables and greens. In this case all of this is stuffed in a juicy squash and sprinkled over with grated parmigiano cheese. This appetizing and filling dish is great for a family dinner.  

Ingredients:

4 young squashes
400 gr minced meat
100 gr rice
1 white onion
1 carrot
1 celer stalk
a bunch of green basil
2 cloves of garlic
400 gr canned chopped tomatoes
1 egg
50 gr parmigiano cheese
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cook the rice, following instructions on package. 
Dice onion, garlic and celery and saute with olive oil until they turn lightly gold. Rinse the squash with a generous amount of water, cut the stem off and cut squash in half. De-seed squash with a little knife. Chop the basil. Combine together minced meat, rice, sauteed vegetables, basil and egg. Add salt and pepper, mix well together and stuff the squashes.
Place tomatoes on the bottom of the baking dish, put stuffed squashes on top and bake in an oven for an hour at 180 degrees. Grate parmigiano cheese over hot squashes before serving. Bon appetite!