Κολοκουθκιά Γεμιστά — Print Recipe

Hollowed courgettes filled with herbed rice, minced beef, and tomato, baked in a light tomato broth and finished with an egg-lemon sauce (avgolemono).

Ingredients

8 medium courgettes
400g minced beef
1 cup short-grain rice
1 onion, finely diced
1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
400g crushed tomatoes
2 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1 Hollow out courgettes using an apple corer, leaving the walls intact. Reserve the flesh.
2 Mix minced beef, rice, diced onion, chopped mint, parsley, half the tomatoes, cinnamon, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3 Stuff each courgette loosely (rice will expand). Place in a baking dish.
4 Pour remaining tomatoes and enough water to come halfway up the courgettes.
5 Bake at 180°C for 50-60 minutes until courgettes are tender and filling is cooked.
6 Make avgolemono: whisk eggs with lemon juice, temper with a ladle of hot cooking liquid, then pour over the courgettes. Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Did You Know?

The avgolemono finish is the Cypriot signature — this silky egg-lemon sauce elevates every stuffed vegetable dish on the island.