Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini

I love food. I love to talk about food. I love to cook food. I love to go out for food. I love to learn about new food. Chances are pretty good, if you have talked to me about anything other than yoga, it was food. So, I guess it was only a matter of time till I turned this space into a partial food blog.

I didn't always love cooking, in fact, in my first apartment I didn't have a working stove or oven for over six months, and I was perfectly content with shopping at 7-11 and 'cooking' food in the microwave. The stove/oven problems were the least of the problems in that apartment, but that's a whole other story. I started cooking seriously when I went to grad school and it became my creative outlet. I often think about how the colors of the ingredients will go together before I figure out my meal. After all, you eat with your eyes first!

When it comes to cooking I have some go-to cookbook authors that I trust and rely on, like Ina Garten or Yotam Ottolenhi, but most times I like to wing it in the kitchen. As such, I rarely measure out ingredients, so writing down this recipe to share was quite a challenge. I would encourage you to not measure either. Use more of what you like and leave out what you don't. Eye ball it, as they say.

This stuffed zucchini recipe can be adjusted and varied to your taste. There is ground turkey in the stuffing but you could easily leave it out and just add more veggies or go the other way and use ground beef. I wont judge you either way. I added fennel seed and red pepper flake to the turkey but you could just use Italian sausage to get the same flavor and save a step.

Ingredients:

2 round zucchini (If you can't find the round variety use a few regular zucchini. If it is fall use acorn squash - just cook it longer)

1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 medium onion diced

1/2 large fennel diced

2 cloves garlic diced

2 teaspoons fennel seed

pinch of red pepper flake or more to taste

1/4 cup parsley chopped

1/4 cup basil chopped

2 large tomatoes diced

2 handfuls pea shoots

1/2 cup farrow

salt and pepper

Do:

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook farrow according to directions on package, drain, and put aside.

Cut off the top of the zucchini and hollow out the body, leaving about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch wall. Put the zucchini shells aside and dice up the zucchini flesh.

hollowed out zucchini shells

Brown your turkey, if using, in a little olive oil with fennel seeds and crushed red pepper. Reserve turkey in a bowl and add more oil to the pan if needed.

Saute onion until translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds. Add fennel and zucchini flesh; continue to cook until fennel starts to soften. Add herbs and pea shoots, they will wilt quickly. Add diced tomatoes and cook until they release their juices. You want the filling to be a little juicy so it doesn't dry out when baked.

Add the farrow and meat back in the pan. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper, as needed. Take mixture off the heat

the cooked filling before stuffing the zucchini

Sprinkle some salt and pepper inside the zucchini shells and brush the outside with olive oil. Stuff the filling inside the shells; allowing it to mound on top.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the zucchini is soft but still holds its shape. You should be able to pierce the zucchini easily with a sharp knife and the filling will be warm all the way to the center.

Eat and enjoy!

cross section of the final product

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Please share your comments or thoughts below. Let me know if you make this as is, or if you vary the recipe; I would love to hear how it turns out and what you come up with!