Sandal Sefası (Zucchini Boats with Ground Meat and Béchamel)

Halved and hollowed-out zucchini filled with a savory ground meat mixture and baked under a creamy béchamel sauce — also known as "zucchini boats," this is a hearty home-style dish.

Prep time: 20 minutes · Cook time: 30 minutes · Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 5 medium zucchini

• 250 g ground meat

• 1 dry onion, 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 tomato

• 1 teaspoon red pepper paste

• Salt, black pepper

• For the béchamel: 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 cup warm milk, salt

• Grated kashar cheese, for topping

Instructions

1. Wash the zucchini and trim the stems, cut them in half lengthwise, and hollow out the centers with a teaspoon.

2. Boil the zucchini in boiling water for 8 minutes, then drain and arrange on a baking tray.

3. Sauté the ground meat, add the onion, then stir in the pepper paste, garlic, and grated tomato, and cook.

4. Season with salt and black pepper, then divide the filling among the hollowed zucchini.

5. Melt the butter, sauté the flour in it, then whisk in the warm milk to prepare the béchamel sauce.

6. Drizzle the béchamel sauce over the filling and sprinkle with grated kashar cheese.

7. Bake at 200°C for 10-15 minutes, until golden on top.