9/22/09 | Leftovers: Stuffed Zucchini
[ Currently Eating: Coffee ]
I’m actually in the midst of getting ready for a camping trip, so here’s a Leftovers For Lunch post. The other day I was trying to figure out what to do with some zucchini that was just on the verge of getting too soft. In the past, we’d made soup out of it, but I decided to try out some stuffed zucchini since I’d never done that. We lightly boiled the zucchini, scooped out the innards, mixed that with ground turkey for the filling and bread crumbs for the filling, and just baked them in the oven.
It turned out all right, but they were a little bit on the dense and heavy side. I was curious if anyone makes stuffed zucchinis regularly. I know that most recipes call for sausage and probably lots of cheese. We can’t use a whole lot of cheese due to lactose issues in the house. I did use some egg as binder, but I felt that the filling tended to fall out when bitten because of the lack of cheese to help stick everything together.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:49 am
I always have that exact same problem with stuffed zucchini. I think it may be a drawback of the medium, rather than an absence of cheese. Zucchini just gets pretty slippery when cooked, so things don’t adhere to it very well, in my experience.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
These sound good to me… I tend to like food light and healthy rather than rich and fattening. I’d probably throw a little chili powder in there.
Actually, to be totally honest, I’d probably cut up the cooked zucchini, put it in a bowl and gag my way through it rather than have to throw anything away. Did I mention I was cheap and lazy?
September 24th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
actually, when my mom makes it she uses turkey, pinto beans, and bulgar wheat. it still falls apart, but it’s not so dense. also, lots of smoked paprika and/or fire roasted tomatoes. it’s fantastic.
September 25th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I haven’t posted the recipe yet, but I recently did all fresh breadcrumbs (not storebought; I had a baguette that’d gone stale, if you have a food processor just pulse it a bit) toasted in a pan with butter, minced garlic, and every herb I had on hand (which was like chives, parsley, hmm I think that’s it)… then I let it cool for a few minutes, tossed that into a bowl and mixed with one beaten egg, I think I used some cheese but not a lot. I was going vegetarian for the dish. Maybe you could also top with tomato sauce.
I didn’t par boil or cook the zukes first though. I simply sliced them down in half, then lengthwise, then scooped out the seeded part (which I guess you could use; I threw into my stockpot). Made them into little “boats” and filled it up with stuffing.
Let me know if you try that or try playing with the method a bit!
October 29th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Three tips. 1) Use Italian breadcrumbs. 2) Add chopped onion which adds moisture. 3) Madeira sauce poured generously on top *makes* this dish. Make it yourself or buy a packet at the store.
November 16th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
My dad uses cream of mushroom soup or that small can of steak mushroom gravy (giorgio makes it, it’s always at the dollar tree stores) when he makes stuffed eggplant to bind the bread crumbs together. To do the same with zucchini wouldn’t be a stretch. He mixes all kinds of spices with the soup before he mixes it in, I think Lawry’s seasoned salt & he cracks his own garlic peppercorns to go in there.
He makes the stuffing like you normally would, mixes that with the soup once it’s done & fluffy, and gently fills the eggplant with the stuffing. A small sprinkle of real parmesan is optional. (if you buy a chunk & grate it yourself, it is WAY cheaper. because it’s fresh it has a stronger flavor, so you wont use as much also saving you $)