Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Stuffed Round Zucchini

 
              I am happy today!! I am happy because when I first saw round zucchini's in an Israeli cookbook, I didn't think that I would end up finding them locally a month later. Who doesn't love farmer's markets??? And this may shock some of you that already know about these wonders of nature, but to me I didn't even know they existed until a few months ago.   This is my perfect vegetable! I love to stuff and I adore squash. "WHERE CAN I FIND THIS?" was my mantra for about four weeks.  I knew that the only place I would probably run across them was in a farmers market. That is exactly what happened, but it happened unexpectedly when I was out with my cousin in Union Square. It's my favorite farmers market  Though on the bit expensive side, there is nothing they don't have. What shows up in my vision? Yup you guessed right, a round zucchini's, it was like a gift sent from the heavens. I think I even heard a few angels sing as I actually zoomed in to grab a few. To top it off, they were grown in South Jersey, so I knew that iwas supporting my Jersey farmers too. Victory!! I packed three. One for me, one for the hubby, and one for lunch the next day. 
Round zucchini's are no different than the regular long ones, they are just cuter and easier to stuff. There are many variations to this, but I chose ground chicken. I had it stocked, and I always improvise with whatever is in the kitchen.
So here goes:

Round Zucchini
4 Round Zucchini
1/2 lb of ground chicken
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon herbs de provonce
1/2 cup veggies (I used spinach and mushrooms)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 375°. Cut a thin slice off the tops of the round zucchini and discard them. Using a small spoon, scrape out the flesh, leaving a 1/4-inch-thick wall. Coarsely chop the flesh and squeeze dry.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the diced zucchini and veggies season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until barely tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the skillet. Add the onion, garlic, herbs de provonce and scraped out zucchini flesh and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes..Stir in the chicken season with salt and pepper. Cook till all the water/fat has evaporated and its relatively dry (the chicken should be cooked by this point)
Season the zucchini cups with salt and pepper and brush the outside with olive oil. .Mound the stuffing in the cups. Set the zucchini on a baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, or until tender and heated through. Serve hot or at room temperature.

14 comments:

  1. OMG, these look tasty. What a wonderful treat to add to any family meal. I love squash.

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  2. I'd be happy too. This is gorgeous!

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  3. Oh, this is lovely! Now it's my turn to chant this mantra "Where can I find this in Hong Kong?", LOL^^.

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  4. How wonderful-must scout for it at our farmer's market this Saturday!!

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  5. dragon: arent they the cutest!!!! i hope you try them at some point.
    Kenny- i really hope you can find them in Hongkong.
    Sweta- farmer's market is where its at!!!
    Teresa: my first love is squash. Hehe

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  6. Great recipe! I just bought some round zucchinis last weekend at our local Farmers Market in Kansas City ... and needed a recipe for tonight. Thanks!

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  7. Oooo I love these!!! So cute! Make these when I come over. Speaking of, let's make a dinner date!

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  8. Thank you for the recipe. I just bought a round zucchini at a farmer's market. I was a bit skeptical that that was what it was actually called. Great article.

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  9. I cooked barley and added ground chicken, bacon on top and lots of cheese. Delish.
    Could use rice too.

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  10. Dont need round Zucchini...cut regular one lengthwise and scoop out...cut tiny slice off of bottom to make sit flat in pan. add any filling and bake. YUM

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  11. i just grew some and wanted to find a stuffed recipe for it. this is a great recipe. i do not have a green thumb but i saw the seeds and had to try growning them. i lost the first plants but the newer plants have a few tiny balls growning and 1 ready to cook. can't wait to eat it.

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  12. http://www.humeseeds.com/zuker.htm

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  13. I'm 62 y o and a gardener. This is the second time in one week I've read of these. I never knew they existed. What a great idea and I wonder how "they" acheived the shape? Thanks for the recipe ideas - excellent.
    old Australian

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  14. I am going to addition this recipe to my Haitian cooking. I can already taste it . Thanks for the recipe. Grandma Bertha.

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New Ideas? Alterations? Substitutes? I wanna know!