Italian Stuffed Zucchini (Zucchini Farciti)

Notes to Andrea: All the recipes are either not enough portions, ask you to measure the zucchini by weight, or make no sense.  Depending on the amount of zucchini available, you could make 7 zucchini's worth & if people eat 1-2 halves each we'd probably have leftovers.  Ingredient list is PER ZUCCHINI, directions are generic for the whole thing.  No need to blanch/steam unless you can not carve them out when they are raw. Plan ahead for fitting all the cut portions in step #1-4 in the largest glass baking pan in the vertical storage drawer under the ovens.  All needs to be baked at once in the end.

***vegetarian note***
Reserve out the zucchini flesh for the boats that you want to make vegetarian and prepare that stuffing separately.  You don't have to put anything in place of the meat at all, or you could add some of the Japanese eggplant or  any other vegetables.  I even saw some recipes that used carrots and peas (those seemed very "down home" italian).

** shopping note**
don't buy parsley... it's not needed unless there's some in the garden.  If you're going shopping, you can literally buy Prosciutto at the deli counter by the slice.  The per pound price is crazy, but they will slice you what you want.  I think I bought $2.50 worth of it once which was like 8 slices or something.

Ingredients

zucchini flesh, chopped
onion, chopped (probably 1/2 cup onion for the whole shebang)
mozzarella cheese for topping all boats

FILLING Per "normal sized" Zucchini (whole, not half = 2 boats):

2 oz of uncooked meat (lose italian sausage or ground beef/turkey)
1 thin slice of Prosciutto (or thinly sliced ham), chopped
fresh basil, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp tomato sauce OR fresh finely chopped tomatoes + dash of oregano.
1 tbsp parmesan or romano cheese
Italian breadcrumbs (dry)



Directions

**Prep Zucchini
1) Wash zucchini, trim off ends, & cut to equal lengths. Slice each section in half lengthwise
2) Remove seeds & discard.
3) Using a melon baller, scoop out flesh leaving about 1/4 inch thick walls in the zucchini, make them like a boat.
4) Arrange zucchini boats side by side in a shallow, olive oil coated glass baking pan (casserole dish).  Set aside until ready to fill.

**Cook Stuffing
5) In a frying pan over medium heat, brown meat, stirring frequently and making sure there are no large lumps.
6) When meat is almost cooked, add chopped zucchini flesh & onion. Continue cooking until the flesh is cooked through and the mixture no longer excreting water from the zucchini.
7) Add Prosciutto, parsley, basil and cook until wilted.  Stir in sauce and cheese.  Remove from heat.
8) Adding a heaping tablespoon at a time, mix in (without smooshing) breadcrumbs until the mixture has the consistency of un-baked thanksgiving stuffing, but not sticky. (if it gets too dry, add an egg)


**Fill and Bake
9) Divide filling evenly between zucchini boats and fill to heaping.  The mixture will cook down as it bakes.  Leftovers filling can be baked in ramekins.
10) Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
11) Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 20 minutes.
12) Remove foil, sprinkle mozzerella cheese over boats and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until zucchini is fork-tender.


Inspiration:
Portobello in Oakland, NJ

https://web.archive.org/web/20160517084603/http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/italy/zucchini.html
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14063/italian-stuffed-zucchini/

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