Featured
Soul Warming Recipes!
Big Green Egg
Featured
Hot & Spicy!
K’s Choice
Peppery Chicken Curry
Fonq
FM
Stuffed Zucchini
I like the simple things in life. Simple ingredients, simple techniques, maximum flavor. But I guess you know that by now. Especially when you hand me a recipe that doubles as an appetizer or side dish, you just reel me in.
Stuffed zucchinis are so versatile. It creates an endless amount of possibilities because almost anything goes with the smooth and silky flavor (and texture) of the zucchinis. Preparing them can be tedious for me (note how I’m saying for me?) though. Boiling them first, stuffing them and then in the oven. Too time consuming. It’s how I learned it a long time ago and it seems I got stuck in my ways.
So lately I’ve been wondering if there are easier and faster ways to prepare them. Now the blog name doesn’t say ‘Dutch Girl Cooking’ for nothing, so I trodded back to my kitchen, slaved over a hot stove and can now safely say: Yes, there is an easier way!
Now please, please, don’t tell me you’ve been doing it like this for 10 years straight! You’ll make me feel completely and utterly stupid! A little white lie, for my sake? Please?
Ingredients:
1 tbsp sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tomato
1 tsp thyme
2 zucchinis
1 onion
cheese
pepper
Optional: bacon
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 (200C).
Give the zucchini a good scrub.
Slice them in half length-ways. You can trim the ends if you like. I never do, I kinda like how rustic it makes them look.
Spoon out the guts. I love how that sounds, has to be the Halloween thing. Oh wait, we don’t celebrate Halloween here! Never mind. Just take it out (leave about 1/2 an inch in) until you end up with boat like shells.
See the pink ‘bracelet’ I’m wearing? Yes, it’s (of course) linked to this posting.
Now give the zucchini pulp a good chop, also chop a small onion and 1/2 a tomato while you’re at it. I’m only using half a tomato (more for color than flavor, really) otherwise things will become a teeny bit too fluid. Having everything gush out of your zucchini is not a pretty sight, trust me!
Notice how I didn’t use garlic for a change? It’s the rebel in me. What can I say? I just don’t want to be predictable after all. Sautee the onions in one tbsp oil or butter. It’s ok for them to brown a little this time ’round.
When the onions are almost done, add 1/4 tsp curry powder and cook everything for an additional 30 seconds. No longer or the curry powder will turn bitter. When they’re done, transfer them to a big bowl.
Now this is completely optional. If you want to stick with a vegetable dish, fine, just leave the bacon out. I personally like the crunch and saltiness it gives, so I cook a few slices and let them drain on a paper towel.
Now (in no particular order), add 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, 1 heaping tbsp sour cream, a good pinch of pepper, the zucchini pulp, the tomato and crumble the bacon in as well.
Lightly butter a baking dish and put the zucchini boats in. You only see two of them in my photos because I’ll finish the rest tonight. They’re best served straight out of the oven. Afraid I’ll just have to sacrifice myself and eat both of them pretty soon, all for the sake of blogging, of course. It would be a shame if they’d go to waste, wouldn’t it?
Grab a spoon and fill the shells with the mix. Sprinkle some aged cheese on top.
Put them in a preheated oven, give them about 20 minutes and then turn on the grill until the top is golden brown. Sprinkle some coarsely chopped curly leaf parsley (the most underrated herb there is) on top and you’re done.
Hello, my pretties!
172 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Just stumbled upon your site, these look fabulous, thanks for sharing!
Ok – I”m addicted to your blogsite! I actually just discovered blogs this week. I am a mom and teacher and have little time to sit at the computer….until this summer when I stumbled upon your blog while looking for new recipes to try. I have already tried your egg drops (which my 3 yr. old daughter loves) and Jayden’s sandwich (which we both love). I just bought some zucchini from the local farmer’s market and will be trying this recipe tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Thanks for such a great site!
Sounds like a good recipe…the end product certainly look good…
Thank you for sharing…
yummy and innovative! thanks a lot, will give a try :)
Love the photography, love the food. I have tried some of your dishes, and they have all been succesfull. I´ll make this one tonight… Very nice blog
Don’t know which to compliment you on.
Your innovation in preparing this dish with fewer steps? Your awesome photography? Or the fun way in which you write?
Enjoy your site!
Love your site! And love this recipe! Found you stumbling!
Wow what a wonderful idea! Something I have to try this year! Thanks!
This is actually diet food except for the bacon!. A little bit of a compromise would be to cook the bacon, drain well and use the pan to brown the onions. You could reduce the amount of bacon or go without but just a taste would be enough enrich the taste.
what a great idea! i love zucchini and i made this last night and it was very delicious! next time i think i may use only 1/4 tsp of thyme (i just personally don’t care for thyme very much but i used the full tsp for this recipe to try it- it was delicious don’t get me wrong but i think i will use less next time) – also i read up there someone used peppers and mushrooms ^^ i think i will try that as well! Thank you for sharing this!
Yeah, this is so good! Thanks for sharing the recipe because it was the first time I tried stuffed zucchini. I’ve prepared it several times (every time without bacon) since I found this recipe.
This is my first comment though I visit your blog for more than a year.
Your blog rocks! Whatever I’ve tried – it was very yummy :) And I love your stile and pictures :)
Thank you thank you for this wonderful recipe! My daughter made it and we all fell in love! Though it’s delicious with bacon, we’ve decided we like it better without. A real winner!
My friend sent me to this website and i must say its AMAZING. I am NO cook, but i made this for my mother who has little faith in my cooking skills and SHE LOVED IT! Thank you so much for the step by step photos, it was a life saver!
I am gonna make these yummies =]
I made this for my fiance and I for dinner last night and it was Delicious!!! Thank you so much for the recipe; It’s a keeper!!
I made these last night with modifications due to milk allergies. I omitted the sour cream and cheese and added some italian bread crumbs to the veg mix and then sprinkled the stuffed zucchini with a little olive oil. Absolutely delicious and easy. I found you via stumbleupon and have bookmarked this great site!
I am in love! I made these a couple days ago and can’t wait to make them again. So delicious!
http://www.alexbutts.com/2011/04/attention-all-zucchini-lovers.html
Looks beautifully delish! What do you suggest I do if i want to make them but do not have a grill?
This was soooo good! I tried it for our Sunday family dinner tonight and it was a huge hit. We made it without the bacon this time, as my SIL is a vegetarian, but I can’t wait to ty it with the bacon! Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe!!
Nou, ik vandaag naar de supermarkt om alles te halen zodat ik ook van die no-doubt heerlijke gevulde courgettes kan maken… Blijkt mijn lokale supermarkt (in California) alleen courgettes te verkopen die ongeveer net zo groot als frikandellen zijn… Uithollen met een theelepel is nog niet eens echt een optie. Ergens had ik het kunnen verwachten, want ik ben hier nog nooit een grote courgette zoals we in Nederland hebben tegengekomen. Wat nou? En ik wil zo graag jouw recept uitproberen… Nou ja, ik ben dan maar gewoon blij dat ze hier in ieder geval courgettes verkopen, in Japan kon ik ze helemaal nergens vinden.
P.S. Wat een geweldige website heb jij! Er staan zoveel lekkere dingen op, ik wil ze allemaal uitproberen! And you make me miss ontbijspek en echte Gouda! En je foto’s zijn ook prachtig.
I am baking these in the oven right now and they smell delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
DELISH!!!
Made these tonight & even hubby who does not fancy zucchini enjoyed them. Will certainly be making them again.
Thank you
This recipe was fabulous and I am adding it to my list of favorites! I steamed shrimp and then added them to the top. Turned out great!
Just came across your photos on Pinterest. SO pretty! I love the simplicity of this dish and how it uses local seasonal summer ingredients. Yum.
Hello from the Canadian prairies!
I stumbled across this recipe looking for ways to cook my zucchini (first time gardener with way too many), and tried making it for dinner tonight. It was easy to make and delicious! Thanks for the great idea!