Stuffed cucumber

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 1 cucumber(s), (country cucumber), approx. 20 cm length
• 300 g minced meat, mixed
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 300 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml tomato(s), strained
• 1 tsp, heaped Greek spice mix
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp paprika powder, sweet
• 1 tbsp, heaped flour
• e.g. salt and pepper
• n. B. sugar
• 2 tbsp oil
• possibly grated cheese

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

hearty, with minced meat

Peel, halve, and finely dice the onion. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the cucumber, trim the ends, halve lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Lightly grease a baking dish and place the cucumber halves in it. Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Brown the minced meat in a pan with a little oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add the onion and continue to cook briefly, stirring. Sprinkle with paprika, add the Greek spice mix, garlic, and tomato paste, and stir well. Dust with flour and deglaze with the vegetable stock, stirring continuously. Discard any residue. Add the passata and simmer with the lid on for 5 minutes at low heat. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and 1-2 pinches of sugar. My Greek spice mix contains oregano, pepper, sea salt, garlic, mint, and rosemary. Alternatively, I would add oregano and rosemary and season with salt and pepper if desired. Now lightly salt and pepper the cucumber halves and use a ladle to scoop out the minced meat from the sauce and stuff the cucumbers. Spread the remaining minced meat and sauce around the cucumbers and bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. If you like, you can sprinkle the stuffed cucumbers with grated cheese. Serve with rice.