Stuffed zucchini recipes I tried before were soggy and either bland or with a strong mid eastern flavor, all of the things I am not particularly fond of. When not satisfied, I tend to fall back on my own kitchen culture. I may run an international kitchen, but with common elements of flavor preference. I am not talking about the paprika. One’s flavor preference goes much deeper than paprika.
Someone once said that be it folklore, religion or food, culture is a mass hallucination. Not to devalue other cuisines, be it novel or interesting, we all have preferences. So when I started to work on the stuffing, I went to my own experience for inspiration. I came up with a very tasty dish that will be repeated as long as I can get a hold of fresh well sized but not overly large zucchinis. Very large zucchinis are generally overripe and are more suited for baking sweet loaves. For absolute freshness I did not soften the red onions for the stuffing. If using white onions, use no more than 1/3 of a cup or better yet replace them with chopped green onions. There is no sogginess and yet the egg loosely binds the vegetables together without the freshness and the crunchiness compromised.
ZSUZSA’S STUFFED ZUCCHINI
1 medium large zucchini, halved lengthwise
1 cup dried bread cubes
1 cup read onion, diced
1 cup red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
1/2 cup dry sausage, chopped [optional]
sprinkling of ground pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
1+2+ 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 small batch of flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 handfuls of shaved Parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 475 F.
- Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh.
- Slice a thin layer off the bottom so the zucchini boat will not tip.
- Discard the the flesh [yes do!] and sprinkle the tops with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Do not salt the zucchini, the feta cheese will provide plenty of salt to the dish.
- Place the two halves on a lightly oiled baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- In the meantime prep the ingredients.
- Place the bread cubes, diced onion, cherry tomatoes, peppers, olives and chopped sausage in a medium sized bowl and toss.
- Whisk an egg and add to the bowl and toss.
- Sprinkle with ground pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and toss.
- Finally add the cheddar, feta cheeses and the chopped flat leaf parsley.
- Using your hands toss well.
- Scoop up a handful of stuffing and start filling up the the zucchini boats.
- Sprinkle the top with 1 Tbsp olive oil and the flaked Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes and serve immediately.
