Stuffed Zucchini

So in a pleasant series of events, my sister gave me some produce from her garden, including a nice, but not huge zucchini at about the same time that Andrea over at Food Embrace posted a recipe for vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini.  Her recipe was scaled for a monster zucchini and the one I had was only about a 10 inches long and not bloated like a zeppelin, so I had to scale it down a bit and of course I made substitutions because I wasn’t about to make the 25 minute round trip to the store.

Andrea’s Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients:

veggies

  • 1 HUGE zucchini, (literally like a foot in length, or as big as you can find)
  • 1/3 C Uncooked Quinoa
  • 1 1/2C Chicken Stock (or veggie broth)*
  • 1/2 Cup, chopped onion
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Carrot
  • 1/2 cup baby asparagus, chopped

  • 5-8 Grape Tomatoes, quartered

  • 1tsp Garlic Powder, or to taste
  • 1tsp Italian Seasoning

  • Shredded mozzarella or provolone (optional)

    • Olive Oil for sauteeing

    Directions:
    Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking dish by rubbing some olive oil around it. In a small sauce pan, heat over medium high heat and add about a teaspoon of olive oil to it.  Add in the uncooked quinoa and sautee for about 2 minutes.  Add in the stock and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until the millet is cooked and has absorbed the liquid.  You may have to add a bit more stock if it evaporates before the quinoa is completely cooked through.

    zucchini hollow

    Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the insides being careful not to scoop down too far.  You want to create a long dent in the zucchini so you can stuff it later.  Place zucchinis in the baking dish once they have been fully scooped out.

    Once the quinoa has cooked, place in a medium sized glass mixing bowl.  Add in the tomatoes, carrot, onion and asparagus. Add in the seasonings as well.  Mix until well combined.  Stuff the millet mixture into the zucchinis, packing them tightly.  If you have leftover stuffing, sprinkle that along the bottom of the baking dish.

    Place in oven uncovered and bake until you hear the stuffing sizzling and the top is a golden brown color. The zucchinis should be cooked through by this point.  About 15 minutes.

    Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese.

    Notes:
    *You may want to use low sodium stock if possible.  The quinoa was tasty and chickeny but rather salty.  It wasn’t as noticeable when mixed into stuffing, but if you’re concerned about sodium, it’s worth considering.

    You can pretty much vary the veggies, herbs and spices in the stuffing with whatever you have on hand. It would probably also work well rolled into a flattened chicken breast or as a side dish.

    stuffed zucchini

    China: Wyndecrest by Lenox

    Posted by Mike on Thursday, August 04, 2011 at 10:21 AM
    Filed in: Entrees • Veggies • ◊ Permalink
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