Stuffed Young Zucchini Recipes

STUFFED ZUCCHINI GENOVESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Trim ends of zucchini and halve them lengthwise. Using a spoon, or melon baller scoop out flesh from each half, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell. Reserve zucchini boats and flesh.
• Boil potato until tender. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash potato in a potato ricer into a small bowl. Add reserved zucchini flesh, Parmesan, egg and nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mound potato mixture into each zucchini boat. Fill only as high as walls of zucchini, or a little above. Use a brush to smear pesto over each. Fit zucchini snugly into an oiled baking dish. Pour enough water to reach 1/4-inch up sides of zucchini, cover tightly with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking 25 minutes more. Let cool to room temperature. Before serving, drizzle each zucchini boat with extra-virgin olive oil. Serve 2 zucchini per person.

ZUCCHINI RIPIENI (STUFFED ZUCCHINI)

Steps:

• Core and cut each zucchini into 3 pieces. In a bowl mix together Mortadella, chicken, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, parsley, garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stuff the zucchini with the filling and put bread crumbs on both ends of the zucchini.
• Arrange the zucchini in a baking pan and sprinkle with celery, carrots, and onions. Crush the peeled tomatoes with your hands and place over the zucchini. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• Prepare the zucchini blossoms for stuffing by gently opening the leaves and pinching out the stamen inside each flower. Set the blossoms aside.
• For the filling, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, lemon zest and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a sandwich-size resealable plastic bag and snip a small corner from one point at the bottom.
• Open the leaves of a blossom and pipe in about 1 tablespoon of filling (don't overfill). Gently twist the top of the blossom to enclose the filling. Repeat with the remaining zucchini blossoms and filling.
• Pour about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet and heat to 360 degrees F. (If you don't have an oil thermometer, you'll know the oil is ready if you drop in a scrap of bread and it sizzles on contact and begins to brown after a few seconds.) Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• For the batter, whisk the flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the seltzer to make a smooth batter.
• When the oil is ready, dip the zucchini flowers in the batter one at a time, letting excess batter drip back into the bowl. Add as many as will fit in the skillet without crowding. Fry, turning once, until the batter is light, crisp and golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon to the lined baking sheet to drain and repeat with the remaining blossoms.
• Serve warm with marinara for dipping.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Trim stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and put in a bowl. Mix seeds with sausage, garlic, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese. Stuff squash with sausage mixture and place in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Pour spaghetti sauce over the top and cover the pan with foil.
• Bake in preheated oven until sausage is browned and cooked through, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and cover with mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven and cook until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes more.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Scoop out the insides of the zucchini halves with a small spoon. Reserve the cored halves and the insides.
• Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add the celery and the reserved insides of the zucchini and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white wine and cook it down for 1 minute. Add the veal and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until it browns nicely, approximately 8 minutes. Stir in the basil and the rosemary and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat, place in a bowl, and allow to cool.
• Once the mixture has cooled, blend in the cheese, egg, butter, salt, and pepper. Fill the cored zucchini with the mixture.
• Fill a baking pan with 1/4 inch of water. Place the filled zucchini halves in the pan and bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini carefully from the pan to a warm platter, spooning the juices from the pan on top of them, and serve.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides leaving about 1/4-in shell.
• Finely chop zucchini pulp; set aside. Saute onion in oil in large heavy skillet. Add mushrooms, garlic and reserved chopped zucchini; cook over medium heat until most of moisture evaporates.
• Add cream cheese, egg, Parmesan, parsley, and pepper.
• Mix well; cook for about 10 minutes.
• Cool filling slightly and fill zucchini shells.
• Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Place on jelly roll pans; bake for 30 minutes at 350°F until bubbly and golden brown on top.

STUFFED YOUNG ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Halve the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the seedy-soft center flesh with a spoon to produce a set of shallow shells to hold the stuffing. Arrange the small hulls in a baking dish. Drizzle with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Chop up the scraped zucchini flesh and reserve.
• Heat the remaining EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms, onions, and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini flesh and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, heat through for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
• While the veggies cook, toast the bread in a toaster, then butter it liberally, and tear it up, and add it to a food processor. Add the parsley and tarragon or basil and pulse into herb crumbs.
• Fold the herb crumbs into the veggies and stir together with 1/2 cup of the Parm and the egg. Overstuff the zucchini shells and roast them for 15 minutes, top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese, and place under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes more to brown.