We hadn't had a vegetable garden in years, but last year we decided to try again. It wasn't a great success -- our major harvest was lettuce, a few green beans and several winter squash -- but we tried again this year. This time, our zucchini plants are doing quite well and we have harvested several large zucchini already. In an old recipe box, I came upon this recipe which I'm pretty sure I copied at my friend Marilyn's house, many years ago. I tried it last week and it's delicious! I thought I would share, for others who are harvesting many zucchini right about now.
STUFFED ZUCCHINI
6 medium zucchinis, halved lengthwise
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
In a large skillet, cook the zucchini in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain; scoop out insides of zucchini, leave a 1/4-inch shell, and place pulp and seeds in a large bowl. Chop up the pulp coarsely and place in a colander to drain. Put the zucchini shells in a shallow baking dish.
Remove casings from sausage (unless you happen to be using bulk sausage); break up meat. Using the same skillet you cooked the zucchini in, cook the sausage, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic; saute' until tender, about 3 minutes more. Stir in the chopped, drained zucchini pulp and the bread crumbs. Fill the zucchini shells with this mixture. Sprinkle with the cheeses. Bake at 350ยบ for 30 minutes or until piping hot.
I haven't tried this variation, but the recipe states that one may also use this same mixture to stuff 6 medium ripe tomatoes or 1 large eggplant.
Must try this instead of stuffed peppers sometime. We don't use sausage, but we could use ground pork with a bunch of seasonings.
ReplyDeleteWe tried Gina's (from Home Joy), zucchini crust pizza last night. I liked it lots, but am not sure Mr. D was too impressed. Also made zucchini muffins and bread... just trying to find ways to use up the zucchini. Our plants had not been producing much lately, but with this recent rain, they may come back to life. We have plenty in the fridge to keep us well supplied. I'm not crazy for frozen zucchini so we try to use it all fresh or make up a bunch of zucchini baked goods and freeze them ahead. Last night was a good time to bake... warmed the house up nicely and smelled so nice and spicy.
Hope you have a great day!
What do you know -- we tried Gina's zucchini crust pizza last night too! We all liked it very much, but thought it was more like a frittata than a pizza. I was talking with my friend Judy today and she had made the recipe today. She thinks that the next time she makes it she will use a 13x9 baking dish instead of the pizza pan. I think I might try that, too. I thought it would be fun to use different cheeses/herbs as well -- say, swiss cheese with a dash of nutmeg and maybe some bacon bits, or cheddar cheese with dill and maybe some ham cubes... you get the idea.
ReplyDeleteOur zucchini plants have been producing a lot. I'll try and share another recipe tomorrow -- oven baked zucchini sticks which are a little bit like french fries. We love these.
Just back from the eye doctor... all is well but I need to go back next week.
Thanks for stopping by!