Cookbook:Qarabagħli Mimli (Maltese Stuffed Summer Squash)

Qarabagħli Mimli (Maltese Stuffed Summer Squash)
Category	Vegetable recipes
Difficulty

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Ingredients

Meat filling

• Oil
• Butter
• ½ ea. small onion, finely chopped
• 500 g minced lean pork
• 2 rashers rindless smoked back bacon, finely chopped
• 2 heaped tbsp grated salt-cured cheese (e.g. sheep or goat's milk, or Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 1 slice of day old bread, soaked in milk and wrung out
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt
• Pepper

Ricotta filling

• 450 g well-drained fresh sheep's milk ricotta
• 100 g grated Pecorino cheese (Romano type or with peppercorns)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or marjoram
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt
• Pepper

Meat and rice filling

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup uncooked round or long-grain rice
• 1 cup Bolognese-type meat sauce
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Salt
• Pepper

Assembly

• 1 kg zucchini or other firm, large squash
• 1 cup fresh tomato sauce
• Dry breadcrumbs or medium-coarse semolina
• Grated cheese

Optional ingredients

• Potatoes, sliced medium-thick
• Onions, sliced
• Salt
• Pepper
• Caraway seed
• Stock or water

Procedure

Meat filling

1. Sweat the chopped onion in a mixture of oil and butter.
2. Combine the onion with the minced pork, bacon, cheese, soaked bread, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper.
3. Reserve.

Ricotta filling

1. Combine the ricotta, grated cheese, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper.
2. Reserve.

Meat and rice filling

1. Combine all ingredients together.
2. Reserve.

Assembly

1. Depending on the size of the squash, either cut off a lid and use whole or else cut in half.
2. Carefully scoop out the squash flesh, leaving a 1 cm thick shell or boat to fill. The removed flesh can be diced and added to the filling ingredients if desired.
3. Fill each hollowed squash with some of one of the fillings. Do not fill to the top, as the eggs (and rice if using) will expand.
4. Combine the breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Dip the top of each filled squash in the topping ingredients (or sprinkle evenly on top) to help seal the filling in.

Cooking

1. Cook the filled squash in one of the following three ways:
   • Baking (suitable for all 3 fillings): Place a layer of sliced potatoes and onions in a baking dish. Season with salt, pepper, and caraway seed, and moisten with stock. Place the stuffed squash on top. Cover with foil, and bake 30 minutes at 180˚C. Remove the foil and continue baking for about 10-15 minutes to crisp the top.
   • Pot roasting (suitable for all 3 fillings): Closely pack the stuffed squash in a pot. Fill with water to just over halfway up the squash. Cover with a lid, and cook on medium heat until the squashes are tender and the rice or meat filling cooked through (about 35 minutes).
   • Simmering (not suitable for ricotta filling): Place carefully-sealed squash in a simmering meat broth (made with root vegetables and meat bones) and simmer on low heat for about 40 minutes. You can serve the strained broth as a first course and the vegetables and stuffed squash as a second course.
2. Serve hot.

Notes, tips, and variations

• For the pot roasting method, you may set the squash on a bed of chopped onion and drizzle with a little olive oil and tomato paste.