Recipe - Russian Zucchini Dill Casserole

6 lg Zuccini; chopped
3 md Carrots; cut into 1/4" dice
2 cup Chopped onions
2 Ribs celery; minced into 1/4"
2 tablespoon Tomato paste
3 tablespoon Chopped fresh parsley
Plus additional for garnish
2 tablespoon Chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cup Tomato juice
Three fourths teaspoon Sugar; or more to taste
1 One half tablespoon Cider vinegar

Heavily adapted from "VegetableStuffed Zucchini with Feta Cheese Sauce" in
"Please to the Table The Russian Cookbook". It works equally well with
yellow squash or bell peppers, (in fact, my favorite is yellow crookneck
squash), but is usually better with zucchini or a mix of zucchini and
squash. In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute' carrots in water or
vegetable stock over mediumhigh heat for about 5 minutes. Add the onions,
celery, and zucchini and saute', stirring, until all the vegetables are
soft and colored, about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Stir in the
tomato paste and saute' for 3 to 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir
in the parsley and dill. Mix the tomato juice with the sugar, vinegar,
salt, and pepper; then stir this mixture in as well and just bring to a
boil. Pour the mixture into a flatbottomed heatproof casserole that will
accommodate the entire amount (I think we use a 10 x 15 x 2 which is plenty
large enough). Bake in the oven, adding tomato juice if it gets dry, until
the zucchini are tender, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before
serving. The original recipe called for a cup of feta cheese, preferrably
Bulgarian, to be crumbled over the top and baked 10 minutes longer.
FatFree feta (if such a thing exists) might work. We haven't made this
since we went VLF, but I imagine I would sprinkle a few tablespoons of
fresh grated fatfull Parmesan over the top to give it that cheesy edge that
used to be supplied by the feta.