Fresh Tomato Sauce For Stuffed Squash Food

STUFFED SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Slice off 1 inch crosswise from stem end of each squash; set aside. Using a melon baller, remove the flesh from squash, bottoms and tops, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Coarsely chop the flesh; set aside. Place the squash bottoms and tops in a steamer, and steam until just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from steamer; set on a wire rack, cut side down.
• In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add onions, garlic, and reserved chopped squash. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from pan, and transfer to a medium bowl.
• Make the filling: Return skillet to heat; add lamb, and cook, breaking up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon, until crumbly and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Transfer meat to the squash mixture, and add breadcrumbs, pine nuts, currants, feta, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, mint, and 3 tablespoons tomato sauce. Stir well to combine.
• Stuff the squash to the rims with the meat mixture. Place the squash tops on top. Pour the remaining tomato sauce into the baking dish, and place the stuffed squash in the sauce. Bake until the squash are tender, about 30 minutes. Divide the sauce among the plates, place the squash on top, and serve.

STUFFED YELLOW SQUASH WITH STEWED TOMATOES

Steps:

• SQUASH: Take 2 of the squash and cut lengthwise. Remove flesh using a teaspoon from each half of the squash. The hollowed shell should be approximately 1/8-inch thick. Chop flesh into small pieces. Take the third whole squash and chop into small pieces as well. Combine chopped whole squash and flesh and set aside. Add butter to saucepan on medium heat and add leeks. Cook for approximately three minutes or until tender. Add chopped garlic and chopped squash. Cook until tender, approximately 4 minutes. Add bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Stir mixture and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and allow the mixture to cool for about two minutes. Stuff each hollowed squash with vegetable mixture. Place them, stuffed side up in a casserole dish with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from oven and serve with stewed tomatoes.
• STEWED TOMATOES: Score bottom of each tomato making an 'X' mark. Place tomatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove tomatoes and shock them with ice cold water. Peel skin from tomatoes starting from the bottom using scored 'X' mark as a guideline. After removing skin, chop tomatoes and set aside. Add vegetable oil to saucepan on medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook for approximately 3 minutes. Stir occasionally, add garlic, celery, green peppers, chopped tomatoes, and sugar. Stir mixture and simmer for 10 minutes. Add parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and stir again. Simmer for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE FOR STUFFED SQUASH

Steps:

• Make an ice-water bath: Fill a large bowl with ice and water; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place tomatoes in boiling water until skins just begin to loosen, 10 to 20 seconds. Remove; transfer to ice-water bath. Remove tomatoes from water, core, and peel. Slice tomatoes in half; remove and discard seeds and liquid. Cut the flesh into 1/4-inch dice.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic cloves; cook until well browned all over, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium; simmer sauce until tomatoes break down somewhat to a saucy consistency, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard garlic.

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; add tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, garlic, white wine and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix ingredients well; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve.

TOMATO STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard pulp, leaving a 1/4-in. shell. Place zucchini in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil; cover and cook for 2-4 minutes or until tender. Drain., In a small bowl, combine the tomato, Monterey Jack cheese, parsley, salt, garlic powder, oregano and pepper. Spoon into zucchini shells. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. , Place in an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.,

STUFFED EGGPLANTS AND ZUCCHINI IN A RICH TOMATO SAUCE (BAATINGAN W KUSAA BIL BANADOURA)

Steps:

• To make the sauce, put the oil into a saucepan or casserole pan with a lid-about 10 inches/25cm wide-and place over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and caramelized. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, along with 2½ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, then remove from the heat and set aside.
• To make the stuffing, while the sauce is cooking, place all the ingredients in a large bowl with 1½ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well, using your hands to make sure that everything is well incorporated. If making in advance, keep in the fridge until ready to use.
• Trim the stalks from the eggplants, then insert a manakra (or peeler or corer) into the eggplant; you want it to be very close to the skin-about ⅛ inch/3mm away-but not so close that it tears and won't hold its shape when it's stuffed. Scoop out the flesh to create a generous cavity. You don't need the flesh anymore, but keep it for another recipe; it can be cut into cubes and steamed or added to your next omelette. If your eggplants are particularly large, slice them in half, crosswise, and scoop out the flesh using a regular small serrated knife-be sure to keep one end of each half intact, so that the stuffing does not fall out!
• Use the manakra or a swivel peeler to scoop out the zucchini flesh. Keep about ⅛ inch/3mm of flesh attached to the skin inside the zucchini and about ½ inch/1cm from the end intact-they need to be robust enough to keep the stuffing inside. Again, keep the scooped-out flesh to use elsewhere.
• Using your hands, so that you can push in a bit of stuffing at a time, fill all the eggplant and zucchini cavities. Stop filling them about ½ inch/1cm from the top of each vegetable; the stuffing needs some space to expand inside the vegetables when they are cooking.
• Gently lower the stuffed vegetables into the sauce. They won't fit in a single layer, but try to avoid too much overlap and submerge them in the sauce as much as you can. Return the sauce to medium heat and, once simmering, decrease the heat to low. Cover the pan and simmer very gently for 90 minutes, or until the rice is completely cooked through and soft-test if it is ready by sticking a knife into the middle of one of the vegetables; it should go in very easily. Don't worry if some of the rice/stuffing spills into the tomato sauce, this can happen and it will be fine when served.
• To make the adha, meanwhile, put the oil into a small frying pan and place over medium heat. After about 1 minute, add the garlic and decrease the heat to medium-low. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring very often, until the garlic is golden and crispy. Keep a close eye on the pan here; you don't want the oil to get too hot and for the garlic to burn. Reserving the oil as you pour, strain the garlic through a sieve. Set the garlic aside-it will crisp up as it cools down-and return the oil to the pan. Add the coriander seeds and chile and cook for about 1 minute, stirring a few times, until fragrant. Remove from the heat, transfer to a separate bowl, and set aside until needed.
• When the vegetables are cooked and the sauce is thick and rich (but still pourable), use a slotted spoon to carefully lift the vegetables out of the pan. Pour the sauce onto a large serving platter (or individual serving plates) with a rim and top with the stuffed vegetables. Spoon on the adha-the coriander-chile oil first, followed by the fried garlic-then sprinkle with the fresh herbs and green onion. Serve warm or at room temperature, with the yogurt spooned alongside.