Stuffed zucchini with risotto

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg zucchini, rather large long or round
• 100 g bulgur or couscous
• 1 jar chutney (zucchini chutney) from the database
• 50 g Pecorino
• 100 g feta cheese
• 300 g short grain rice
• 1 small onion(s)
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 liter of boiling water
• 100 ml cream
• 50 g Parmesan
• some olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

vegetarian, quick and easy

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Wash the zucchini, halve them, scrape off a little of the bottom if necessary so they will stand upright in the dish, and scoop out the excess oil with a spoon. Add a splash of olive oil to an ovenproof dish, place the zucchini in it, drizzle with a little oil, and cook in the oven until al dente (about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the zucchini). Meanwhile, cook the bulgur/couscous according to the package instructions, set aside, and let the steam evaporate. Finely chop the onion and garlic, add them to an ovenproof dish with a little olive oil, and set aside. Grate the pecorino and Parmesan cheese, and dice the feta. Bring water to a boil. When the zucchini are al dente, remove the dish from the oven and place the other dish containing the onion and garlic mixture inside. Sauté until translucent. Meanwhile, mix the bulgur with the zucchini chutney and the feta cubes and fill the zucchini. Sprinkle with pecorino (you can also use just Parmesan, of course) and return to the oven. Remove the other risotto dish. Add the rice, crumbled stock cube, and boiling water, stir well, and return to the oven. (I place the dish with the risotto at the bottom of my oven, with the zucchini roughly in the middle on the oven rack.) Stir the risotto occasionally. After about 20-25 minutes, everything is ready. Pour in the cream and stir in the grated Parmesan. If it’s still too runny, return it to the oven for a few more minutes. Alternative 1 to the chutney: Mix 2-3 diced fresh tomatoes, a diced onion, a little paprika (smoked if you have it), 3 tablespoons of ketchup, a little Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of Tabasco into the bulgur. Add diced vegetables to taste. Alternative 2: Mix half a jar of ajvar, diced vegetables to taste, and some diced tofu into the bulgur.