This stuff is fabulous! This is a shot taken just before they went in the oven. I have an old photocopied collection of recipes for zucchini, from the Colorado State University Extension Dept., and the stuffed zucchini has remained a favorite of mine for about 25 years. Jeesh I'm feeling old!
This is one of those do-your-own-thing kinds of recipes for the most part. But here are the basic steps and ingredient suggestions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray your baking dish, the size depends on how many zucchini you're filling of course. This works with either smaller zucchini or even overgrown zucchini.
3. Wash and trim the zucchini, cut them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the pulpy centers. Some people par boil the zucchini, but I just microwave them for a couple of minutes to begin cooking them. Place the zucchini cut side up in the baking dish. If they won't sit flat, trim a strip down the center of the undersides of the zucchini to help stabilize them.
**It helps to steam the zucchini if you put a little water or plain tomato sauce in the bottom of the baking dish before you place the zucchini in the pan.
4. Prepare your favorite meat sauce - mine usually includes a large can of ground tomatoes, one can of tomato paste, either Italian sausage or ground beef, onion, basil, garlic, vinegar, dry Italian seasoning, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. To thin it down I either use stock, wine, or water. For this dish, the sauce should not be too thick since the liquid will help to cook the zucchini. In a crush, you could use a jarred sauce of course. Try to add a little bit of extra spice, garlic, basil, etc., to wake up the flavor of the jarred sauce.
5. You can stretch the sauce with cooked rice or other grains you have leftovers. You could actually leave out the meat if you prefer.
6. Spoon the meat sauce into the centers of the zucchini, top with a little grated cheese of your choice, and pop into the oven. Cook for 30 minutes, or until the zucchini are tender and the sauce is bubbly. If the cheese starts browning too much, tent the pan with a piece of foil.
