Stuffed Courgettes with Mince and Feta — from the Oven
Halve the courgettes lengthways, hollow out, chop the flesh and fry with mince, cooked rice, onion, feta and tomato purée. Fill, sprinkle with cheese, into a dish with a little tomato sauce, 200 °C for 30 minutes. The scooped-out flesh goes into the filling — waste nothing.
In August half of Switzerland searches for 'recipe with courgettes', because every garden and market stall has more than anyone can eat. Stuffed courgettes are the answer for the big ones: they become the shell for a filling of mince, rice and feta, and the insides go in too. One tray, 50 minutes, and the dish is vegetables, meat and side all at once.
Ingredients
- 4 pieces Courgettes (large, about 300 g each)
- 400 g Minced meat (beef or mixed)
- 200 g Rice (cooked)
- 1 piece Onion
- 2 pieces Garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Tomato purée
- 150 g Feta
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Salt
- Pepper
- 100 g Gruyère (grated)
- 1 tin Tomatoes (chopped, 400 g)
- ½ bunch Basil
Method
- 1
Hollow the courgettes
Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Halve the courgettes lengthways and scoop out with a spoon, leaving a 1 cm wall. Finely chop the flesh. Salt the insides of the halves.
- 2
Filling
Chop the onion and garlic. Brown the mince in the oil for 5 minutes, add the onion, garlic and chopped courgette flesh, fry 5 minutes until the liquid has gone. Stir in the tomato purée, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper, off the heat, fold in the rice and crumbled feta.
- 3
Fill
Pour the tinned tomatoes with salt into a baking dish. Set the courgette halves in it, fill generously with the filling, sprinkle with Gruyère.
- 4
Bake
Bake 30 minutes in the middle of the oven until the courgettes are tender — check with a knife — and the cheese is golden. Scatter with basil, serve with the tomato sauce from the dish.
Tips
- Giant courgettes from the garden: halve lengthways, hollow out, fill, and bake 45 minutes. One serves four. Scrape out the seeds of the big ones first — they are woody.
- Filled and unbaked they keep a day in the fridge. Baked, two days — reheated at 180 °C for 15 minutes. Cold in slices they make a good snack.
- The same filling suits peppers, aubergines, tomatoes and kohlrabi. And leftover filling is a rice skillet for lunch.
What can I substitute?
The vegetarian filling. Brown the mushrooms, add the chickpeas with the rice. Just as filling with the feta.
Couscous makes the filling lighter, bulgur nuttier. Leftover rice from the day before is the rule, not the exception.
Milder — often better for children. Ricotta makes the filling creamy, mozzarella gives strings.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my stuffed courgettes watery?
The scooped-out flesh was mixed raw into the filling. Courgettes are 95 percent water — fry the flesh with the mince until the pan is dry. Salting the insides of the halves and leaving them 10 minutes draws out more water.
How long do stuffed courgettes take in the oven?
30 minutes at 200 °C for normal 300 g courgettes, 45 for giants from the garden. Done when a knife goes through the courgette wall without resistance. The filling is already cooked — only the shell needs to soften.
Can I freeze stuffed courgettes?
Baked, yes, up to two months. The courgettes soften after thawing; the filling stays good. Reheat from frozen at 180 °C for 25 minutes.
When are courgettes in season?
Swiss-grown from June to October, cheapest in August when they cost under 3 CHF a kilo at Migros, Coop and every market. Small courgettes for frying, large ones for stuffing.
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