This light, aromatic, and delicious Zucchini Potato Stew with sour cream, garlic, and herbs is an easy summer recipe that requires from you just about an hour. Serve it with some bread to soak up all the delicious sauce!
Hello everybody! I hope you are doing great even though that’s the LAST full week of August. How come? There’s no reason to be upset, though. Let’s think positively. Yes, this is the last (full) week of August, but we still have like one month till the astronomical fall. Yay! I am not sure how about you, but this means for me I am not done with summer recipes yet. While I have tried some apple recipes already, this doesn’t mean I am rushing to open apple season on this blog – not earlier that in 3 weeks, I estimate.
I am rather excited about this Zucchini Potato Stew. Why? Most of my savoury summer recipes are salads (Which are normally can work as the entree dish), bruschettas (Perfect light meal to me!), and occasionally flatbreads and pasta. Chilled soup, too. Still, I rarely share substantial food. I am more into fancy summer stuff, you know lol. This Zucchini Potato Stew is exactly the opposite; substantial, hearty (And quite healthy), and family-style recipe without any extravagant or expensive ingredients.
I don’t know the origins of this dish, but it’s very common in Russia; at least my mom would make it often when I was a kid. It could be adjusted to your liking (For example, I saw recipes with some ground beef too), but the basic components are potatoes, zucchinis, and sour cream. Garlic and herbs (I love dill in this stew) are important, too. Sour cream adds a nice tang, but as you know it’s not the healthiest product (Too much fat and calories even in a low-fat option with almost no protein), so you can use some plain yogurt instead. Think of Greek yogurt, it must be very good!
Most recipes suggest cooking potatoes and zucchini in one pot, starting with the potatoes. But in this case, zucchini can turn too mushy and sometimes just dissolved because all the juices (If you pack the pot with both potatoes and zucchinis, they will be basically steamed.) So I opted for giving them a good quick fry on a pan first, separately, and then combine in one pot. That could add an extra 15 minutes or so to the cooking time, but that’s worthy! Also, most Russian recipes call for a ridiculous amount of oil (Because zucchinis easily absorb all the fat) – thank you, but no. I don’t like my veggies being greasy, and I’d rather have an extra bowl of ice cream instead of all that oil. Trust me, just a little bit of oil (2 tablespoons) would work perfectly fine; just follow my recommendations.
I must admit this looks a little bit messy, but what would you expect from this stew when starchy and juicy veggies are sauteed with the sour cream sauce? That’s comfort food at its best. Importantly, that’s comfort food that is relatively healthy! The last thing to remember – the proportions are approximate. You can take an equal amount of zucchinis and potatoes or significantly reduce the number of potatoes opting for more zucchinis if you want this recipe to be even healthier. Andrew, who isn’t a huge zucchini fan, said he wouldn’t mind if I hadn’t put zucchinis at all, well but that would have been a totally different recipe lol.
This Zucchini Potato Stew with sour cream, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs is a hearty, healthy, and super delicious summer recipe. And if you make it, don’t forget to serve this stew with some fresh bread – you wouldn’t like to waste any of this awesome creamy sauce!
Cheers for now and more Russian zucchini recipes to be posted soon.
Zucchini Potato Stew
Ingredients
- 4-5 medium zucchinis, thickly sliced (about 1 cm) and halved if large ~ 7 cups sliced
- 4-5 large potatoes, sliced (same as zucchini or slightly thinner) ~ 5 cups sliced
- 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped (no need to remove the skin) ~ 2,5 cups
- 1,5 cups low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper, to your taste
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. dried herbs
- a bunch of fresh herbs (I used mostly dill plus some parsley and oregano), chopped
- bread, for serving
Instructions
- Place zucchini on a dry pan in a single layer, season with a tiny pinch of salt, and cook without adding any oil, over hight-medium heat, for about 3-4 minutes from each side. The purpose is to let them release the water so they start to brown; they will be more delicious and keep their shape/texture better in the stew when combined with other ingredients. For a faster process, use two pans.
- Remove and transfer them in a large pot (4 l. at least). In the same pan(s) add the olive oil and cook the potatoes, for about 7 minutes, until start browning. Slightly season with the salt when cooking. Transfer them in the pot to the zucchinis.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, dried herbs, smoked paprika, and pepper to the pot. Cook uncovered about 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Stir in the sour cream and fresh herbs, cover (It might cause splashes!), a pinch of salt, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Try and add more salt if necessary.
- Serve with bread and chopped extra dill.
- Enjoy!
You must have known about my garden that’s currently exploding with zucchini. I need all of the ways to use it, including this delicious looking stew. Yum!
Great recipe for the abundance of zucchini we have right now, Ben! I love the addition of potatoes, since I have so many, thanks to my CSA box. The creamy sauce sounds perfect, too! I’d probably use greek yogurt myself, but all the same, it sounds wonderful! Thanks Ben!
We make a zucchini soup each summer that we freeze for chilly Autumn days, and now I’m thinking I need to make a batch of this zucchini potato stew, too. It sounds delicious, Ben! And this is perfect for these late summer days as we have more zucchini than we know what to do with. The nights are starting to get chilly here, and that means this stew would be a perfect dinner next week!
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I’ve never heard of zucchini stew, but it looks right up my alley! I love all the flavors and ingredients in here! I’ll be topping mine with extra sour cream because yummmm!!!!
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