Stuffed Zucchini
Stuffed Zucchini
*serves 3-4
The zucchini harvest was plentiful in the summer and it has been this fall too. Throughout the two seasons I’ve eaten zucchinis fried and pan seared two ways — one with feta and one with ricotta. They have been enjoyed as rollatini, with pasta in an elevated mac and cheese style, and I have even made them into noodles! Suffice to say stuffing the zucchini seemed like the next brilliant dinner idea to share.
Stuffed zucchini are hearty and filling but, somehow, still light. They’re a relatively simple weeknight dinner and perfect for early fall when you can start turning on your oven again without so much hesitation. The filling for these is protein and veggie forward, a perfect anti-inflammatory meal, using lean turkey chop meat, onions, garlic, herbs, tomatoes, a bit of pecorino romano cheese and — yes — even the scooped out flesh of the zucchinis themselves.
First things first — to make the stuffed zucchini you will need to slice the zucchinis in half, lengthwise, score and salt them. Let them rest for 20-30 minutes, doing this will release water from the zucchini and soften its fleshy center. Next, scoop the flesh from the center of the zucchini and put it aside. At this point you can also line a roasting tray with foil or spray it with non-stick spray and place the zucchini boats there for stuffing in a little bit.
Add onions, garlic and herbs to a large saute pan — along with the flesh of the zucchini — sprinkle with salt and cook for 10-15 minutes until soft and fragrant. Once the onions and flesh are very soft and cooked, add the tomatoes and a little bit of chicken stock to break everything down. Finally, add the turkey chop meat and cook for an additional 15 minutes, until the meat lightly browned and cooked through.
When the turkey meat is finished cooking, check for salt and seasoning, then add a few handfuls of pecorino romano and mix well until its combined. This will complete the stuffing — with a final twist of freshly ground black pepper.
Stuff the zucchini boats until full and sprinkle with a little extra cheese if you wish. At this point, the zucchini are ready to be baked in an oven preheat to 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until the zucchini shell itself is just fork tender!
When the stuffed zucchini are done baking they will be slightly browned on top and the zucchini shell will be soft, but still slightly firm. The zucchini boats are a complete meal of protein and vegetables. They can be served alongside a salad, roasted potatoes, or even fresh string bean and garbanzo salad with roasted eggplant for a very vegetable forward meal!
Stuffed Zucchini
*serves 3-4
Ingredients
3-4 zucchinis sliced in half lengthwise
1 pound of turkey chop meat
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of salt
3-4 roma or vine ripened tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of chicken stock, as and if needed
1/2 cup of pecorino romano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
—Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking tray or roasting sheet with foil and put aside
—Slice the zucchinis in half, lengthwise, score with x’s, salt and put aside for 15-20 minutes
—Pat the zucchini with a paper towel to absorb the water that has formed on the flesh then, using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop the flesh from the zucchini and reserve
—Slice onions and put aside
—Heat a large saute pan with extra virgin olive oil and add the onions, zucchini flesh, garlic, dried oregano and salt — cook until the onions and zucchini flesh are soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes over a medium flame
—Add tomatoes to the pan and mix to combine
—Add the turkey chop meat to the pan and begin to break the meat apart using a wooden spoon, mixing it in with the other stuffing ingredients
—Allow the turkey chop meat to cook through, it should be soft, and if it begins sticking to the pan or if your mixture starts to look dry, add the chicken stock to the pan one tablespoon at a time
—The turkey meat should take about 10-15 minutes to cook through, once cooked, add pecorino cheese and mix the stuffing well
—Stuff the zucchini boats until full and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the zucchini are fork tender —NOT MUSHY — and the filling is heated through and tops are slightly brown