Recipes · Main dishes

Stuffed Zucchini with Lentils and Feta

Name: Stuffed Zucchini with Lentils and Feta
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 zucchini medium, about 9 oz (250 g) each; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 pinch salt; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion finely diced; 2 clove garlic finely chopped; 1 can cooked brown lentils drained weight about 9 oz (250 g), rinsed and drained; check the label for celery; 3 ripe tomatoes seeded and diced, about 10 1/2 oz (300 g) in all; 1 tsp ground cumin ground; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 0.5 bunch flat-leaf parsley chopped; 150 g (5.3 oz) feta crumbled, half into the filling and half on top; salt and black pepper to taste, feta is already salty

AI-written · not yet kitchen-tested

Zucchini are mostly water. Bake the hollowed halves on their own for 10 minutes first and cook the filling down in a skillet, or everything ends up sitting in a puddle.

Serves 4
Prep 25 min
Cook 35 min
Total 60 min
medium

No photo yet

This recipe was written with AI assistance and has not yet been kitchen-tested. Check quantities and times as you cook, and follow safe core temperatures for meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

Ingredients

Convert cups to grams →

4 zucchini medium, about 9 oz (250 g) each
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely diced
2 clove garlic finely chopped
1 can cooked brown lentils drained weight about 9 oz (250 g), rinsed and drained; check the label for celery
3 ripe tomatoes seeded and diced, about 10 1/2 oz (300 g) in all
1 tsp ground cumin ground
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp lemon juice
0.5 bunch flat-leaf parsley chopped
150 g (5.3 oz) feta crumbled, half into the filling and half on top
salt and black pepper to taste, feta is already salty

Method

Heat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C) conventional, or 350 °F (180 °C) convection. Wash the zucchini, trim the ends and cut each one in half lengthwise.
Scrape out the flesh with a teaspoon, leaving a wall about 3/8 inch (1 cm) thick all around. Finely dice the flesh and set it aside.
Brush the zucchini halves inside and out with the tablespoon of oil, salt them lightly and set them cut side up on a baking sheet, about 16 × 14 inches (40 × 35 cm). Bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil for the filling in a skillet. Cook the onion for 3 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic and the diced zucchini flesh and cook for 4 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated.
Add the lentils, tomatoes, cumin and paprika and simmer for 5 minutes, until hardly any liquid is left in the skillet. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper, take the pan off the heat and fold in the parsley and half of the feta.
Mound the filling into the pre-baked zucchini halves and crumble the remaining feta on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides into the zucchini wall without resistance and the feta shows golden spots.

Tip: Do not leave the zucchini wall thinner than 3/8 inch (1 cm): thinner halves tear while you fill them, thicker ones stay firm in the oven.

Tip: Feta is salty. Season the filling after tasting it, before the cheese goes in, and go easy on the salt.