Our garden is sprouting out zucchini at an incredible pace. Add in the zucchini we are receiving through our Community Supported Agriculture Cooperative (CSA), and it is fair to say we have a good amount of zucchini with which to cook. My guess is that if you have zucchini growing in your garden, you have a bumper crop too. Zucchini grow from small to huge in mere days and each time I walk through our garden, there’s a new crop.
Here’s a fun recipe to try with zucchini, whether home-grown or store bought. I took the components of bruschetta, an Italian appetizer that is essentially bread, with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper and jazzed it up and stuffed the zucchini with them. The result was delicious, a new favorite way to serve zucchini.
Bruschetta Stuffed Zucchini
2 zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup onion, diced
1 large tomato, cored and diced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Cut off the ends of each zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. With a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out the inside flesh of the zucchini. Scoop as much of the zucchini out as you can, without tearing the skin. Take the flesh of the zucchini and chop roughly, setting aside.
Place the zucchini in a steamer and steam over boiling water for 3 minutes. Alternatively, place in a microwave safe dish and cook on high for 1-2 minutes or until fork tender but not mushy. Set aside.
Meanwhile in a medium skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil. Once warm, add the garlic and onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato and reserved zucchini flesh. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the zucchini flesh is very tender. Add the salt and pepper and stir well.
In a bowl, combine the zucchini flesh mixture, bread crumbs, basil and cheese. Stir well to fully incorporate.
Fill each zucchini with the bruschetta mixture:
Place under a broiler for 3-4 minutes, or until the top browns slightly.
Serves 4.
We call these yummy creations zucchini boats!
SPC