Mediterranean Zucchini Stew With Tomatoes

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe This incredibly delicious and vegetarian zucchini stew will make the perfect light low-calorie meal on beautiful summer days. It is packed with a bunch of Mediterranean flavors and pairs fantastic with a light and refreshing yogurt sauce and some crusty bread. If you would like to try more vegetarian recipes, go have a  look at our Vegetarian Recipe category. And if you’ve just fallen in love with zucchini, we also have a bunch of healthy zucchini recipes like zucchini tomato casserole, feta cheese stuffed zucchini boats or cheesy zucchini Casserole. Why We Like This Recipe It is incredibly easy and simple to make. You will be surprised how quickly you can whip up this delicious meal.It is very low in calories and not heavy at all. This light zucchini stew will make the perfect lunch, appetizer, or even late-night dinner if you aren’t that hungry. It is perfect for summer and is packed with delicious Mediterranean flavors!It tastes so good with some crusty bread. We enjoy dipping bread into it! About The Ingredients Naturally, the hero ingredient of this stew is the zucchinis. We prefer the pale green variety but literally, any type of zucchini or courgette will work fine. Then we of course have the fresh summer tomatoes, which add a tangy and slightly sweet flavor to the zucchini stew. We wouldn’t recommend using canned tomatoes, although you can if you’re in a pinch. This recipe allows you to play around with spices a lot. Although it does already contain a perfect blend of aromatics, you can always remove and add some that meet your needs. We sometimes love adding some chili or cayenne pepper for an added kick. If you want to create a heartier stew, you can add additional chopped potatoes, or other vegetables like sweet potatoes, pumpkins, or carrots. How to Make This is a flavor-packed vegetarian stew that only uses basic ingredients to create an incredibly unique and mouth-watering stew. And what makes it even better is that there is still room for you to play around with the flavors! First, prepare the zucchini. We love to dice them as they are better in a stew. But you can chop them roughly in larger pieces if you want. Second, make the base of the stew. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add your onions. Allow them to cook until they are translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the tomato paste, cooking it for about 1 minute while stirring. Add the diced zucchini with their skin on and cook them for about 2-3 minutes, making sure they are covered well with the tomato paste. Place a lid on the pot and allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes on low heat. Then, allow to cook and serve. After your zucchini has sweated a bit, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt, and all the other seasoning ingredients. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes. Finally, garnish the zucchini and tomatoes stew with some parsley and serve immediately. Tips We like to make our zucchini quite chunky and large. A rough chop is more than fine as they shrink a lot while they cook. This also helps add more texture to a stew, which can often be mushy.We would highly recommend choosing the best and freshest tomatoes for this recipe as it is a big flavor component. You can (and even should) make your own tomato paste and choose some fresh summer tomatoes.If you are in a hurry though, you can use chopped canned tomatoes, or even whole peeled tomatoes for juicier flavors.This recipe is fantastic as it only uses simplistic flavoring ingredients like garlic, salt and pepper, cumin, thyme, and paprika. Obviously, all of the ingredients in this recipe create a well-balanced flavor profile, but it does leave a lot of space for experimenting!You can substitute the parsley with fresh dill or basil as a garnish. These will still add a refreshing herb flavor that compliments the flavors of this stew well. Serving Suggestions This is a staple summer dish in Turkish cuisine, especially in the more southern parts. We always love serving it with a dollop of yogurt. You can buy store-bought plain yogurt, although we prefer making our very own. Our yogurt recipe is incredibly easy to make and you don’t need a ton of skills or equipment. Alternatively, you can serve it with some crusty bread like this hot water cornbread, bazlama bread, or pide bread. All these make fantastic dipping bread for this zucchini tomato stew. FAQs Can I freeze this stew? You can definitely freeze this stew for up to 3 months! The most important thing to keep in mind when freezing vegetable stews, or any dish really, is to keep a consistent and stable freezer temperature. Can I make it with meat or chicken? You can definitely add some type of meat to these like chicken or beef, however, we love it most as a vegetarian dish. Can I substitute basil for parsley? You can substitute the parsley with virtually any herb. We would recommend herbs that have a fresher and less umami flavor like basil and dill, even fennel. These herbs pair fantastic alongside zucchini with tomatoes and onions. Can I use store-bought tomato sauce? You can buy store-bought tomato sauce, however, fresh summer tomatoes do always work better. And never skip adding tomato paste! The tomatoes are a big component of this recipe and give it a deliciously tangy, sweet, and slightly acidic flavor profile. More Zucchini Recipes Zucchini Fritters Mucver With FetaZucchini ChipsCrustless Zucchini PieAs always: If you make this recipe–or any recipes on Give Recipe–let us know what you think by rating and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see! Sign up for the FREE GiveRecipe Newsletter to get the new recipes into your inbox! And stay in touch with us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram for all the latest updates. Print📖 Recipe Mediterranean Zucchini Stew Recipe ★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews A very light stew with zucchini, onions and tomatoes. Author: Zerrin Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Yield: 4 1x Category: Side Dish Method: Sautéing Cuisine: Turkish Diet: Vegan Ingredients Scale 1x2x3x 2 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped  1 tablespoon tomato paste  2 medium sized zucchini (about 1 pound)  3 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and chopped  4 cloves garlic, chopped ½ teaspoon salt  ½ teaspoon black pepper  ¼ teaspoon cumin ¼ teaspoon thyme ½ teaspoon paprika Chopped parsley for garnish Instructions Heat olive oil in a pan. Cook onions until translucent. Reduce the heat and add in tomato paste. Cook it for about a minute, stirring occasionally.   Dice the zucchini with their skin. Add them in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the lid on and let it cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes.  Add in chopped tomatoes, garlic, salt and other spices.  Cook it covered for 20 minutes.  Garnish with parsley before serving. Notes We used diced zucchini but you can just roughly cut them in larger chunks. Tomato paste and summer tomatoes are important in this recipe for the best flavor. But if you are in a hurry, you can use canned chopped tomatoes. You can play with the spices if you want. You can substitute fresh dill or basil for parsley as a garnish. Keywords: zucchini stew, zucchini tomato stew Vegan Zucchini Tomato CasseroleStuffed ZucchiniVegan Cauliflower CasseroleCheesy Cabbage Casserole