Another week, another vegetable delivery from the country to the city. Last week we got:
- Chard
- Parsnips
- 8-Ball Zucchini
- Sweet Peppers & wax peppers
- Cucumbers & Lemon Cucumbers
- BiColor Sweet Corn
- Heirloom Tomatoes, Red Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes
- NY White Garlic
- Blackberries
- Sweet Basil
And my prized item of this bunch was this monster:
This massive zucchini is called an “8-Ball” zucchini, although mine was much bigger than even those magic toys. It also did not tell me my fortune, other than “You’re going to have a very delicious dinner tonight.”
No, I’ve never seen one either until now. Unless you count wandering in a pumpkin patch at some point in my life and just grouping everything that wasn’t a pumpkin as “that other squash”. But apparently this big round pumpkin-like vegetable is a plump zucchini, ready for cooking.
Rather slice it like a plain old boring zucchini, I cut it just like a pumpkin, like it’s masquerading to be. I saved the pulp to add it back in later. (It’s ok to save the seeds too, they are completely edible like regular zucchini, although when a bunch of them separated from the pulp, I discarded them.)
From there, I sauteed whatever vegetables I had on hand – for me it was the garlic, chard, and parsnips from my CSA, along with an onion and the remaining zucchini pulp. I also added one of my tomatoes in at the end along with some vegetable broth.
Then I mixed it with some rice, bread crumbs, and mozzarella, and stuffed it back into the zucchini. (And topped with more cheese OF COURSE.) Finally, it was baked into bliss at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes (or until the outer zucchini cooked through).
And this is what came oozing out.
Another new recipe complete!
Vegetarian Stuffed 8 Ball Zucchini
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small 8 ball zucchini
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 c. onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped chard or spinach
- 1 to mato chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 c. vegetable broth
- 1/4 c. bread crumbs
- 1/2 c. cheese divided
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Slice off the top of the zucchini and hollow out out the inside of the zucchini. Save the pulp and set aside.
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Sautee garlic and onions in olive oil until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add spinach/chard zucchini pulp and sautee until soft.
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Season with salt and pepper.
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Add chopped tomato and sautee for 1 minute more.
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Add vegetable broth and sautee for 1 minute.
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Add bread crumbs and half of the cheese. Stir until all ingredient are combined.
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Scoop the vegetable mixture into the hollowed out zucchini. Top with remaining cheese.
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Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked through.
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