Stuffed zucchini boats with spicy paprika sauce and rice

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 m.-large zucchini
• 200 g tofu, natural
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 clove(s) garlic, very finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 tsp, heaped curry
• e.g. chili flakes
• 2 tbsp oil, neutral
• salt and pepper
• 1 m.-sized onion(s), finely diced
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 100 g sour cream
• 250 g quark
• 500 ml vegetable broth, hot
• 1 tbsp hot paprika paste (no ajvar)
• Salt
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• a little syrup (pomegranate syrup, alternatively vinegar)
• 250 g rice (long grain rice)
• 500 ml water
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

Food combining recipe carbohydrates

Cut the tofu into small cubes and place in a bowl. For the marinade, mix together the soy sauce, garlic cloves, cumin, curry powder, chili flakes, and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix the marinade with the tofu cubes and let it sit for 30 minutes. Wash the zucchini, trim off the ends, halve them as evenly as possible, and carefully scrape out the seeds and soft bits with a small spoon. Place the zucchini in a sufficiently large casserole dish and set aside. The dish does not need to be greased with oil, as you will add the vegetable stock later. For the sauce, mix the vegetable stock with the paprika paste (available in Turkish supermarkets and is NOT ajvar). Be careful, the paste is very spicy. If you don’t like it too spicy, start with 1 teaspoon – adding more paste is always fine. Season the stock with salt. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and the marinated tofu (without adding any more oil). Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Wash the parsley, shake dry, and finely chop. Then add the sour cream, quark, parsley, and fried tofu cubes to the used marinade bowl and mix everything well with a spoon. Season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (top/bottom heat). Fill the zucchini boats with the tofu and quark mixture (this works best with a teaspoon). Then carefully pour the paprika broth into the casserole dish. Cover and cook in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncovered for another 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Meanwhile, cook the rice. Remove the zucchini from the sauce and set aside, covered (e.g., with aluminum foil). Transfer the sauce to a small saucepan and heat. Mix the cornstarch with a little water to thicken the sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, paprika paste, and a little pomegranate syrup (also available in Turkish supermarkets) or a few drops of vinegar. Serve the zucchini boats with the sauce and rice. Note: The basic idea isn’t mine, but rather from “preiswert kochen” (cheap cooking). I was given permission to publish the recipe here – a big thank you! I used zucchini instead of the suggested bell peppers and made a few other changes.