Yes, it’s zucchini season, and these things are everywhere, calling to us from the garden or with their rock-bottom prices from the farm stand and local markets. Are you currently being buried alive with summer’s most prolific green veggie? Here’s how I’ve been eating them.
Slightly hollowed out and stuffed with savory goodness, then baked to perfection. Let’s make baked stuffed zucchini boats.
I use a melon baller to scoop out a shallow well in each zucchini. If you do this you’ll want to angle the melon baller or spoon tip along the sides of the center strip rather than straight down the middle.
Hello, gondola zucchini.
Once they’ve pre-baked for a few minutes dressed only in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, stuff the zucchini boats with whatever you want before a return trip to the oven. Here I stuffed mine with diced red pepper and onion, cherry tomatoes, halved balls of fresh mozzarella, and slivers of fresh basil. A little extra olive oil and salt and pepper, and they’re ready for their second trip to the oven.
The first time I made these I cut off the ends of the zucchini before baking them, but I quickly realized I needed the ends to “hold in” the melted filling and cheese, so just ignore the knobby ends until they come out of the oven, then cut them off and dig in.
Fresh, delicious, flavorful summer eating!
Be creative with your fillings. The original recipe linked below called for olives and breadcrumbs, but you can also add meat, mushrooms…anything you want. Happy zucchini eating. Good luck keeping up with it!
Baked Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Adapted from The Kitchn
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini of equal size
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
10 fresh small mozzarella balls, halved
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced red pepper
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Olive Oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Cut zucchini length–wise and scoop out about 1/2 inch of the very center. Don’t worry about it being too deep — just enough to eventually hold the fillings. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake on the prepared sheet for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and fill the zucchini with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and mozzarella. Drizzle with more olive oil, then sprinkle fresh sliced basil over the top. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste.
- Increase the oven heat to 450°F and cook for another 10-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. When the cheese is melted, it’s time to eat.
Serves 2
View and print the recipe for Baked Stuffed Zucchini Boats
