Stuffed Zucchini: One Local Summer Week Three
Apparently I'm not very good at math (or following directions, for that matter). My One Local Summer post summaries have been one week behind every week at Farm to Philly. I finally figured out that this is because I didn't follow directions and started posting a week earlier than I was supposed to (woops). So, with this in mind, I am clarifying that this is my Week Three post. You can link to last week's post Mozzarella Omelet with fresh herbs to read about a 100 percent local breakfast last weekend.
Let's get down to business. I purchased an enormous zucchini this week. While I initially had zucchini bread in mind-- which is the only way my husband claims to like zucchini-- I decided to see if I couldn't get him to like zucchini in the flesh after all by making a stuffed zucchini with a tomato, garlic, and cheese topping.
His reaction: "Can we scoop out a big helping of all the toppings and just eat those?" (If he only knew that the zuchhini pulp was mixed into that delicious topping.)
Stuffed Zucchini with Tomato, Garlic, and Mozzarella topping
Stuffing Ingredients:
- One large zucchini
- 1/4 Cup fresh bread crumbs (I used a whole wheat baguette)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 TB fresh basil, chopped
- 2 TB fresh oregano, chopped
- Salt and pepper
Topping Ingredients
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (I used a mixture of two heirloom varieties)
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 TB red wine
- 1 TB fresh basil, chopped
- 1 TB fresh oregano, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 Cup Buffalo-style mozzarella, sliced
Stuffing Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350F. In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Slice the ends off of the zucchini. Cook the zucchini in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes.
Heat 1 TB olive oil in a medium saucepan. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Turn off the burner. Add the basil and oregano to the pan and stir. Combine this mixture with the bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper. Mix well.
When the zucchini is finished, remove from the pot. Slice the zucchini in half and remove the pulp. Chop the pulp, then add to the stuffing mixture. Fill both halves of the zucchini with the stuffing mixture. Place in a large baking pan and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Topping Instructions
Combine all of the ingredients, except the mozzarella, and set aside.
Remove the zucchini from the oven after the 20 minutes are over. Turn the broiler on.
Add the topping to each zucchini half. Place the mozzarella slices on the top, then move the zucchini to the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Enjoy this cut into smaller pieces as an appetizer, or each zucchini half as a main course.
And finally, the mileage. . .
Mileage for this meal:
Tomatoes-- D & S Farms, 38 miles
Scallions-- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles
Garlic-- Sunnyside Farm and Orchard, 71 miles
Basil-- my garden, 0 miles
Oregano-- my garden, 0 miles
Bread Crumbs-- Bonaparte Breads, 38 miles
Egg-- Highfield Dairy, 120 miles
Mozzarella-- Blue Ridge Dairy, 44 miles
Not Local-- salt, pepper, oil, wine
