Autumn, for me, is about slowing down the cooking. I want nourishing food; the caramelised sweetness of roasted fruits or vegetables, hearty stews and warming spices. This recipe of stuffed globe courgettes with lamb, cinnamon and rice ticks all of the necessary cold-month boxes. The globe courgettes, which could just as easily be curvy squash, mini pumpkins or long marrows, are baked and then filled with a flavourful mixture of minced lamb slowly cooked down with onions, garlic and a sprinkle of cinnamon. They are so easy to prepare and make the perfect weekend supper.
Stuffed Globe Courgettes with Lamb, Cinnamon and Rice
Ingredients
- 8 small or 4 medium globe courgettes/zuchinni or squash
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 250g or 8 ounces minced lamb
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150g or 2/3 cup long grain rice
- 250ml or one cup hot stock — lamb or vegetable
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh mint or parsley, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Chop the tops off the courgettes and set aside. Using a small knife or a spoon, carefully hollow out the insides of the courgettes. Chop the flesh, and also put aside.
- Place the hollowed courgettes in a roasting tin, sprinkle with two tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. If using a large squash or marrow cook for 10 minutes more at this stage.
- In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for a few minutes to soften. Add the lamb mince and fry until brown, for about five minutes. Add the chopped courgette and cinnamon and cook for another two minutes.
- Stir in the rice and pour in the hot stock. Bring back to the boil and then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, take the rice off the heat. It should be tender.
- Take the courgettes out of the oven and carefully spoon in the cooked rice mixture. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately with chopped fresh mint or parsley sprinkled over the top.
I’m linking this post up to Simple and in Season, this month hosted by Nazima at Franglais Kitchen as well as to Herbs on a Saturday at Lavender and Lovage as the fresh mint on top of these little globes is essential!
Genevra says
I was thinking of doing these with peppers rather than courgette (as that is what I have in the fridge!) topped with crumbled feta…what do you think?
Franglais kitchen says
Oh this is a lovely dinner. I have made stuffed mini courgettes but more as a side dish. This is a gorgeous main course dish.
Mich - Piece of Cake says
Rice and meat stuffed in a squash sounds really delicious… love how beautifully you’ve made them.
Ren says
Thank you Mich! Hope you can find some and try them.
Chris says
I like those globe courgettes. They look lovely. I’ve never seen them before.
Ren says
Thanks Chris, hopefully becomming a bit more widely available, but certainly I’ve seen baby round squash this week too that would work well.
Jaime says
Ren, these look absolutely cute and perfectly yummy! I’ve never seen or tried globe courgettes before but may be time to go looking for them 🙂
Ren says
Thank you so much Jaime, lovely to hear from you, hope you find some this autumn x
Simon says
very easy to grow the globe ones and when they start fruiting you end up with loads..
Laura@howtocookgoodfood says
I love the little globe courgettes which make such a beautiful and perfect receptacle for the spiced lamb & rice filling. This is definitely a dish that says Autumn to me. Great flavours, all of which I love xx
Ren says
Good word – receptacle! They do, indeed. And so nice to serve one or two on a plate, the kids had fun digging into the filling!
Dom says
Ooh Ren these are stunning! I love courgettes but I haven’t seen the globe ones in shops up in Lincs so I must hunt them down. Lovely spices with the lamb too. So perfect for these colder days. Thanks for the inspiration x
Ren says
Thank you Dom, mine were from Sainsbury’s, although I later saw some lovely marrows at St Albans Farmer’s market which would have been lovely, too.
Sally - My Custard Pie says
A reminder to make some stuffed veg – my family’s absolute favourite. Excellent recipe. Can’t get globe courgettes here but very capable with the apple corer on the long type!
Ren says
Yes there are so many wonderful Middle Eastern stuffed vegetable recipes, a scattering of toasted pine nuts wouldn’t go a miss here either x
kellie@foodtoglow says
This ticks my cold month boxes too. Total yum! And the images are very good -I would have made a total hash of them. And there are lots of dinky, stuffable hard squashes around too with which to make these – too good to waste on Halloween. Bookmarking and Pinteresting this 😀
Ren says
Thanks Kellie, they make such a good vehicle for stuffed anything! They hold their shape well too and the flesh goes really sweet. Thanks for your kind comments 🙂