Russian zucchini dill casserole

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
6 larges Zuccini; chopped
3 mediums Carrots; cut into 1/4\" dice
2 cups Chopped onions
2 Ribs celery; diced into 1/4\"
2 tablespoons Tomato paste
3 tablespoons Chopped fresh parsley
Plus additional for garnish
2 tablespoons Chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups Tomato juice
¾ teaspoon Sugar; or more to taste
1½ tablespoon Cider vinegar

Directions

Heavily adapted from "Vegetable-Stuffed Zucchini with Feta Cheese Sauce" in "Please to the Table -- The Russian Cookbook". It works equally well with yellow squash or bell peppers, (in fact, my favorite is yellow crookneck squash), but is usually better with zucchini or a mix of zucchini and squash. In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute' carrots in water or vegetable stock over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the onions, celery, and zucchini and saute', stirring, until all the vegetables are soft and colored, about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Stir in the tomato paste and saute' for 3 to 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and dill. Mix the tomato juice with the sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper; then stir this mixture in as well and just bring to a boil. Pour the mixture into a flat-bottomed heatproof casserole that will accommodate the entire amount (I think we use a 10 x 15 x 2 which is plenty large enough). Bake in the oven, adding tomato juice if it gets dry, until the zucchini are tender, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. The original recipe called for a cup of feta cheese, preferrably Bulgarian, to be crumbled over the top and baked 10 minutes longer.

Fat-Free feta (if such a thing exists) might work. We haven't made this since we went VLF, but I imagine I would sprinkle a few tablespoons of fresh grated fatfull Parmesan over the top to give it that cheesy edge that used to be supplied by the feta.

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