60 zucchini flower blooms
2 cups rice
1 finely chopped onion
5 tbs finely chopped parsley
4 tbs finely chopped fresh mint
2 tbs finely chopped basil
1 diced tomato
1.5 cups grated tomato
1/2 cup pine nuts
1.5 tsp ground pepper
4 tbs olive oil
3 cups of water
salt to taste
dash of cinnamon (optional)
2 tbs olive oil per saucepan for coating
1. Place the flowers in a large bowl of cold water and remove the stems. Drain the same.
2. In a bowl, mix together the rice, onion, parsley, mint, basil, tomato, passata, pine nuts, pepper, olive oil, salt and cinnamon (which is optional).
3. Using a spoon, stuff each flower with some mixture and fold over the ends of the petals.
4. Drizzle 2 tbs olive oil on the bottom of a large saucepan.
5. Arrange the flowers in a large saucepan in a circular pattern, side by side. It is better to use two saucepans, so there is only one level of flowers. If you pile the flowers on top of each other, the rice may be uncooked and overcooked. If you are concerned, simply cut the recipe in half.
6. Pour 1.5 cups of water in each saucepan, so that the water comes up to about half the height of the zucchini flowers.
7. Place a large plate covering the flowers on top. Place the saucepan on the stove on medium heat, cooking for about 20-25 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
My all time favourite cyprus dish, next to Koupes……. yum
Oh yes, koupes! Am a sucker for koupes, they disappear fast when I am around! On my to-make list! 😀
Hi Christina,
For the rice, do you use leftover cooked rice or uncooked rice? If uncooked, should it have been washed? Soaked?
What kind of rice is used in Cyprus and what would be the best substitute? Jasmine? Basmati? I imagine the East Asian short grained sticky rice that I am most used to will not work. Also, what is the rice:liquid ratio you would use for this rice if you were cooking it plain, not stuffed into anything? I know some types of rice use more than twice as much liquid as others, so knowing this will help me scale accordingly. My apologies for so many questions just about the rice!
Also, the rice grains will expand as they cook… will the zucchini blossoms burst?
Thank you, I really look forward to making this recipe!
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I love your food is the best!!
I love your food is the best