Cookbook:Qarabagħli Mimli (Maltese Stuffed Summer Squash)
(Redirected from Cookbook:Qargha Baghli Mimli)
Qarabagħli Mimli (Maltese Stuffed Summer Squash) | |
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Category | Vegetable recipes |
Difficulty |
Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Recipes
Ingredients
editMeat filling
edit- 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
edit- 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
edit- 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
edit- 1 kg zucchini or other firm, large squash
- 1 cup fresh tomato sauce
- Dry breadcrumbs or medium-coarse semolina
- Grated cheese
Optional ingredients
edit- Potatoes, sliced medium-thick
- Onions, sliced
- Salt
- Pepper
- Caraway seed
- Stock or water
Procedure
editMeat filling
edit- Sweat the chopped onion in a mixture of oil and butter.
- Combine the onion with the minced pork, bacon, cheese, soaked bread, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper.
- Reserve.
Ricotta filling
edit- Combine the ricotta, grated cheese, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper.
- Reserve.
Meat and rice filling
edit- Combine all ingredients together.
- Reserve.
Assembly
edit- Depending on the size of the squash, either cut off a lid and use whole or else cut in half.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
edit- 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.
- Serve hot.
Notes, tips, and variations
edit- 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.