Stuffed Zucchini Boats

That's a BIG one!

An old friend gave me this colossal zucchini (thanks Tammy!)  At over a foot and a half long and weighing in slightly over four pounds, I had a tough time deciding what to do with it.  Usually when I cook squash, I slice them into planks or rounds and saute in a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Simple, but I wanted to use this one in a way  that would show off its incredible size and besides, it seemed a shame to cut it up.  Stuffing seemed like an obvious choice!


Don't be discouraged by all the steps involved, you'll be making each component one at a time, then combining them together when it's ready to pop in the oven.  Oh yeah, you don't need a zucchini the size of Texas to make this dish, normal sized zukes will work fine or you can use the stuffing mixture for bell peppers, acorn squash or even tomatoes!   Here's the recipe which serves about 4.

Turn this...

Into this!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Start by making the sauce:

29 oz can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon each:  marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme*
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Add all herbs to tomato sauce and set aside.

*Don't get hung up if your spice rack is missing some of these, you can replace the marjoram with basil or all the herbs by using your favorite Italian seasoning.  Put in what you like or have on hand. :)

Now make the filling:


1 lb hamburger
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup rice, cooked and cooled (or leftover)
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

Brown ground beef over medium heat in a large skillet, season with salt and pepper, drain.**  Set aside meat in a bowl lined with a paper towel then saute onion and peppers in the olive oil over medium heat, adding the garlic last so it doesn't burn, this step should take around 5 minutes.  Re-season with salt and pepper.  Add meat, rice and about 1/2 the sauce, stir.  Add parsley and adjust seasonings to taste.  Now you're ready to prepare and stuff your zucchini!

**A helpful tip for draining ground beef:  Use a turkey baster to suck up the drippings and squirt into a jar reserved for this purpose.  (If you don't keep a grease jar under the kitchen sink, like I do, you can always line a coffee mug with foil, squirt in the fat and throw it out when it solidifies.)  It's much easier than awkwardly tipping the pan and pouring the grease off which can be dangerous or make a huge mess.

Ready to Stuff

Slice your zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle to make a shallow boat.  Salt and pepper, and drizzle olive oil over the cut sides and make sure to rub the olive oil over the skin sides as well.  Put your zukes in a casserole dish and mound the filling into the boats, as much as they will hold.  Drizzle more sauce over the top and put on the middle rack of your oven, preheated to 375 degrees.  Bake until fork tender, about 35-45 minutes depending on the size. If the filling seems to be getting overly brown cover with tin foil.

While it's baking, prepare the cheese crumble:

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon parsley

Combine cheese, panko and parsley.  Sprinkle over top of the stuffing during the last 10 minutes of cooking and bake until topping is melty and golden!

Out of the oven

Serve any remaining sauce with the meal in case anyone wants extra.  To bulk up dinner...a green salad and/or garlic bread would go really well.  And don't forget the red wine!  Thanks for reading, I'll be back next week.