Stuffed vegetables used to be all the rage, and they taste even better reinvented with flavours of today. A fantastic healthy treat.

Ingredients

• ½ cup orzo pasta
• boiling salted water
• 2 tblsp oil
• 1 onion peeled and diced
• 1 tblsp minced garlic
• 1 tblsp finely sliced lemon grass
• 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
• 250 grams mushrooms, finely diced (flat mushrooms are nice here)
• ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

Method

1. Cook the orzo pasta in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, garlic, lemon grass and chilli and cook until softened.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to loose their moisture. Add the cooked pasta and stock and simmer 2 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.

Stuffed Tomatoes

1. Slice the top off 8 medium-sized tomatoes and scoop out and discard the seeds and centre pulp. Fill with the mushroom stuffing and bake at 180°C for 35 minutes.

Stuffed Baby Squash

1. Slice the top off 4-6 baby squash. Scoop out and discard the seeds and pulpy centre. Season with salt and pepper and a knob of butter. Sit the tops back on the squash and place in a baking dish. Bake at 180°C for 35 minutes. Fill with the stuffing, replace tops, and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes.