Kabak dolması – zucchini stuffed with rice and herbs in tomato sauce Recipe
Kabak dolması are tender zucchinis stuffed with rice, herbs, and spices, simmered in a light tomato sauce. In Turkey, such stuffed vegetables often appear at home lunches, especially in summer when zucchini is cheap and everywhere. The flavor is a bit like stuffed cabbage rolls, but without meat and with a distinct herbal aroma.
This dish brings the flavors of a Turkish home kitchen to your table: delicate zucchini, aromatic herbs, and rice slowly simmered in a light tomato sauce. It’s satisfying without being heavy, naturally meat-free, and perfect for using up an abundance of summer zucchini.
Chef's tips
Don’t overcook the rice in the pan at the beginning – it should stay raw, just lightly toasted in oil. Thanks to this, it will absorb the flavors of the herbs and tomato sauce while cooking in the pot. Try to choose zucchinis of similar size so they cook evenly, and don’t pack the filling too tightly so the rice has room to expand.
How to serve
Serve kabak dolması warm, with plenty of tomato sauce from the pot and a generous spoonful of thick natural or Greek yogurt. A fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion with lemon and olive oil makes a perfect side. You can also serve it with flatbread or crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
Ingredients
- zucchini - 4 piece
- rice - 150 g
- onion - 1 piece
- tomatoes - 2 piece
- tomato paste - 20 g
- olive oil - 50 ml
- parsley fresh, finely chopped - 10 g
- mint fresh, finely chopped - 5 g
- dill fresh, finely chopped - 5 g
- salt - 8 g
- black pepper ground - 3 g
- cumin ground - 2 g
- water - 400 ml
Preparation
- Rinse the rice several times in cold water until the water is almost clear, then drain well in a sieve. Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 3–5 minutes, stirring, until it softens and becomes slightly translucent, without browning.
- Add the raw rice and fry together for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the grains turn slightly glossy white. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, peel off the skins, and cut into small cubes. Finely chop the parsley, mint, and dill.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, herbs, cumin, half of the salt, and half of the pepper to the rice in the pan. Mix thoroughly – the filling will be quite moist, but the rice will remain raw.
- Wash the zucchinis and cut off the ends. Cut each one in half crosswise, then scoop out the center with a teaspoon, leaving walls about 1 cm thick so that you get “cups.” You can finely chop the scooped-out flesh and add it to the filling.
- Fill the zucchinis with the rice mixture, without packing it too tightly and leaving about 0.5 cm of free space at the top, as the rice will swell during cooking.
- In a wide pot or deep pan, mix the water, tomato paste, remaining olive oil, and the rest of the salt and pepper. Stand the stuffed zucchinis upright, side by side, so they don’t tip over.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 35–40 minutes. Check from time to time that there is still some sauce in the pot; if it has almost evaporated, add a little water.
- The zucchinis are ready when they are soft when pierced with a fork and the rice inside is cooked and tender. Serve hot with the sauce from the pot, sprinkled with extra parsley.
Storage
Faszerowane cukinie przechowuj w lodówce w sosie pomidorowym, w szczelnym pojemniku. Można je też zamrozić do 2 miesięcy; po rozmrożeniu delikatnie podgrzewaj w garnku lub piekarniku, podlewając odrobiną wody.
