Recipe: Tiny Stuffed Vegetables (Mikra Yemista Lakhanika, Greek)

TINY STUFFED VEGETABLES
(MIKRA YEMISTA LAKHANIKA)

2 firm, round eggplants, no more than 3 inches long
Sea salt
2 very small zucchini, no more than 3 or 4 inches long
3 small other squash, about 2 inches in diameter, or 3 more zucchini
3 small bell peppers, green, red or yellow (or a combination of all three)
6 boiling onions, about 1 and one-half inches in diameter
4 small tomatoes (not cherry tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided use
FOR THE STUFFING:
1 small onion, finely grated
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or 1 tablespoon ground coriander)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup long, grain rice, cooked
4 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons dried rigani (Greek oregano) or oregano
1/2 cup currants or small dark seedless raisins, optional
Juice of 1 lemon
Lemon wedges (for serving)

TO PREPARE THE VEGETABLES:
Slice off the stem ends of the eggplants, cut them lengthways in half, and sprinkle cut sides with 2 teaspoons salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to "sweat."

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, rinse the zucchini and other squash and rub with a clean dish towel to remove any fuzz. Slice off the stem ends of the zucchini and squash and remove a thin slice from the base of each squash so that they stand upright. Add the zucchini and other squash to the boiling water and lightly boil for 5 minutes, until barely soft. Drain on paper towels and retain the boiling water for the next stage.

Slice off the tops of the peppers, remove the cores and seeds, and rinse the tops and peppers. Peel the onions, slicing off the root and stem ends. Add the peppers, pepper tops and onions to the boiling water. Lightly boil the peppers for 5 minutes or until slightly softened, the onions 3 or 4 minutes longer, until just soft, and drain.

Slice off the tops of the tomatoes and set aside. With a small spoon, scoop out the seeds, sprinkle the insides with the sugar and a pinch of salt, and invert on paper towels to drain. With the point of a small paring knife, push out the centers of the boiled onions, leaving shells of 2 layers, taking care to leave the bottoms intact. Finely chop the centers.

Place a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat and add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Dry the eggplants with paper towels and fry them until the cut sides are golden brown and the skins are dark and wrinkled, about 12 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Or, to boil eggplant instead of frying, see below.*

Cut the zucchini lengthways in half and carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving one-quarter-inch shells. Scoop out the flesh of the eggplants and squash. Discard the eggplant seeds and finely dice all the flesh.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.

TO PREPARE THE STUFFING:
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Add the chopped onion, grated onion, and garlic, and saute over low heat until soft.

Add the tomato seeds and pulp, eggplant pulp, zucchini and squash pulp, cinnamon or coriander, and pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the rice, parsley, rigani or oregano, currants or raisins, and half the lemon juice, and gently stir to mix. Taste the mixture and add more lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be highly flavored.

TO STUFF AND BAKE THE VEGETABLES:
Arrange all the vegetable shells in a single layer in a large, shallow baking dish. Loosely fill with the rice mixture, taking care not to split the shells. Replace the tops of the tomatoes and peppers and sprinkle all the vegetables with the remaining lemon juice and olive oil to taste.

Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the baking dish and bake uncovered 1 hour, until the vegetables are soft; reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees if the vegetables start to brown. If necessary, add a little more water to the dish.

TO SERVE:
Let the vegetables cool in the baking dish, then transfer to a serving plate. Surround with lemon wedges and sprinkle with the pan juices and olive oil to taste. Serve at room temperature.

*If you prefer to use less olive oil, the eggplants may be cut in half, salted and drained, then added to the boiling water with the zucchini. Boil 5 minutes and drain on paper towels. Because this dish has an overall mellowness, the rich flavor of eggplant prepared in olive oil is not essential to its success.

Makes 12 to 15 servings as appetizers, 8 as a first course
Adapted from source: Flavors of Greece by Rosemary Barron