As Featured in Mind Body Green
At this time of year, zucchini is abundant all over the country. So what do you do with it? You can sauté it, grill it, roast it, make it into a stew or a bread, but my personal favorite is to stuff it. You can stuff it with almost anything so it’s easily customized for almost any diet.
There’s an almost infinite number of ways you can stuff a zucchini. Whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or a conscious carnivore, you can customize your zucchini to your liking. Just follow this simple process, then go do your thing.
Roast it: Cut in half vertically and roast (cut side down) at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes, or until the inner flesh is soft but the outer skin holds it shape
Scoop out the flesh and puree it: A few seconds in a food processor or mixer.
Sauté some onions and garlic: Follow up by adding whatever other ingredients you’d like.
Please note that the inner flesh of zucchini is watery, so regardless of what you decide to add to it, one of the ingredients needs to be something that acts as a binder. It could be mashed potatoes (as in this recipe), or cooked rice, polenta, bread crumbs, mashed chickpeas or beans, quinoa, lentils, cooked and chopped meat… you get the idea.
This time I chose to make my stuffing a cross between cheddar mashed potatoes and “creamed” spinach. This was so good I could’ve eaten all four myself — seriously!
Zucchini Stuffed With Spinach, Potato and Cheddar
(feeds 4 or more)
Ingredients:
- 2 medium zucchini, cut in half vertically
- 2 cups of mashed potatoes
- 8 ounces of fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup of diced sweet onion
- 2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
- 4 tablespoons of panko
- 8 grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half vertically
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place a medium 11” saute pan over medium heat.
Add oil and heat until hot but not smoking.
Add the onions and cook until softened (about 3 minutes).
Add garlic, cook for a few moments, just until it begins to color and add the spinach.
Cook for about two minutes or just until it wilts. Add a splash of water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the puree from the zucchini and the potato, season and stir.
Fill each of the 4 zucchini boats, top each with 4 half tomatoes, sprinkle with panko and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or just until the panko browns to a golden color.
Serve whole or in segments as an appetizer, side dish, or entree.
Wow! I love zucchini!! What a great idea! I would never have thought about something like that by myself!
Thanks so much for the inspiration. Do you have more zucchini recipe?
Adi. Yes, stuffing zucchini is great, so versatile and so easy. And yes, other recipes; there’s a recipe for zucchini stew (an old family recipe) that’s perfect for the cooler nights ahead and one for zucchini frittata in the recipe section…just scroll through you’ll easily find them. And this weekend I’m working on a recipe for gluten-free zucchini pancakes. Never made this before so don’t know how they’ll turn out. But one of my fav that I’ll post once I get my hands on some zucchini blossoms is to stuff them and fry them in a tempura batter. So yummy I’m craving them know. So I’m with you girl – love zucchini.