Stuffed Zucchinis - GV Style

THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2010

4-4.5 stars (out of 5 - simple, yet impressive and delicious!)

GV gave me this recipe at one of our many in-between-patient meetings, where we love to talk about anything but the stress of our internship! This is really a simple recipe that looks super impressive and tastes just as good. I love the heartiness of it, and the blend of all the flavours.

Ingredients:

Medium sized zucchinis
1 shallot per (whole) zucchini, finely chopped
Butter
1 slice of white bread per zucchini (whole), torn into bite-sized pieces
Splash or two of milk or cream
Shredded cheese (either Havarti or Gruyere)*
Salt and pepper

{*Note. I have made these two times: the first was with Gruyere cheese, which was great; this time I made it with Havarti, which was also good and browned easier. Basically, any good, strong cheese will work, depending on your preference}.

1. {Preheat oven to 350 or 375F} First, I cut the zucchinis in half, and scooped them out. I chopped the zucchini "insides" and set them aside.

2. I then heated a pan over medium heat, and added butter. Once it was hot, I added the shallots and cooked for about 3-4 minutes.

3. Once the shallots were semi-cooked, I added the zucchini "insides" and cooked for about 3-5 minutes.

4. As this was cooking, I tore the bread into small pieces, and added a dollop of milk so that the bread-milk mixture was moist, but not soggy.

3. I then added the cooked zucchini/shallot mixture to the bread...

4. ... and stirred in the cheese, mixing everything well.

5. I then stuffed the zucchini halves with the mixture...

6. ... and topped with extra shredded cheese.

7. I then placed them in the oven for about 10-14 minutes.

Final product:

Overall, I found these to be a delicious accompaniment to any meal, or as a main part of a meal (which I did as a replacement to a meat, served with a salad). The flavours and textures are ideal, and they are simple to make (and hard to mess up!) which I love. These will definitely become a regular in our household. Thank you, GV!

Zucchini Stuffed w/ White Bean Pesto (Slow Cooked)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14th, 2010

4 stars (out of 5 - simple, delicious, no-stress side dish!)

I decided to try a recipe out of my new Vegetarian Slow-Cooker book (thanks, PTL!) to make part of our Valentine's Day dinner (SB making the other part). This recipe appealed to me because it seemed very simple (I am not up for anything complex on my weekends!) and I could make it a few hours ahead of time, and then relax. This is a delicious side dish, that I would definitely recommend.

Ingredients:

4 small-medium zucchinis*
2 tbsp olive oil
2 green onions, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped coarsely
1-1.5 large garlic clove, pressed
1/4 - 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 (small) can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed well
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

{Note. The number of zucchinis depends on how many you can fit in your slow-cooker!}

1. First, I prepared the zucchinis by hollowing them out with a small spoon. Keep the pulp and chop it up.

2. I then added 1 tbsp of the olive oil to a sauce pan, and heated it over medium heat. When it was warm, I added the zucchini pulp, garlic, and green onions. I also added some salt and pepper. I covered and cooked for about 10 minutes, just softening everything up.

3. As the veggies were cooking, I toasted the pine nuts over medium heat for about 4 minutes (watch them, they burn fast!).

4. I also prepared the parsley, basil, tomato, and rinsed the beans. So little stress!

5. After the zucchini/green onion/garlic combo had cooked for 10 minutes, I added the beans, pine nuts, tomatoe, and fresh herbs...

6. ... and stirred everything very well.

7. I then scooped the veggie-bean mixture into the zucchinis. There was enough to fill 4 halves, but my slow-cooker could only fit three :(

8. I placed the zucchini in a lightly oiled slow cooker, drizzled a bit of olive oil over them, and switch it on "Low" for about 3 hours. I put them on for a bit more than 3 hours and they were slightly overcooked. I would even bet that 2 hours would be good enough.

Overall, these were pretty delicious, and very low stress. I actually really liked the veggie filling on its own. I think the slow-cooker was ideal for this recipe, as it cooked the zucchini without drying everything out. I would definitely make this again, but cook them for a bit less time. I would also prefer if I could fit one more in my slow-cooker in case we have a couple of people over for dinner.