Oh, Stuff It! (Your Zucchini, That Is)

You know it’s summer when you open your door and someone has left a beautiful zucchini on your doorstep. You feel so special, until you look at your neighbor’s doorstep and see zucchini there too. Your neighborhood is probably filthy with them because everyone always underestimates the number of zucchini that comes from one plant. My father did his entire life.

Estimates are, one plant gives three to nine pounds. That means your overzealous gardening neighbor is drowning in zucchini.

Luckily my dad had enough kids, willing friends, neighbors, and a wife who canned, to dispose of his zucchini properly.  But, If you’ve heard a knock on your door and seen a zucchini try to push it’s way in, you can bet your gardner neighbor has underestimated.

At this very minute, gardeners are probably dropping zucchini in open car windows, dressing them in bonnets and sneaking them in bassinets. This summer, I got zucchini from my ex-husband and his wife!

The next phase for the zucchini gardner involves making every bread, cake and pie imaginable. The good news is, zucchini season only lasts a few months.

Even better?  Zucchini is versatile and looks good in a Groucho nose.  You can make cakes, breads, even savory pie with it, plus you can stuff it, use it as layers in lasagne, or make Zucchini Parmesan.  You can even grate it and freeze it for use later. Personally,  I stuff mine because it tastes great, and it’s very easy.

I make a mixture with ricotta, cooked Italian sausage, a little garlic, mozzarella, fresh basil, eggs, and my favorite Italian seasoning, Aroma. It’s just like my lasagne filling.

(Here’s an Italian insider tip: If you plan to make this and are choosing ricotta, always choose Galbani. I’ve tried others and most taste gritty. None is as creamy or smooth as Galbani — trust me on this.)  It’s also great for making cannoli. The link takes you to their website; they have awesome recipes! (And no one pays me a cent to say this, I only recommend products I like.)

Once the zucchini is cooked,  you can top it with tomato sauce. When I make my slow cooked sauce, I make extra so I can freeze it and use it for times like this. This stuffed zucchini, basically a one dish complete meal,  is delicious and not very filling, so eat up! And, for God’s sake, be careful when you open your door.

Stuffed Zucchini

1 large clove of garlic – minced

3 to 4  links of sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings,  cooked and crumbled

1 large zucchini

1  15 oz container of Galbani Ricotta

1 tsp. Aroma Italian seasoning

8 oz of shredded mozzarella

6 to seven medium-sized basil leaves finely chopped

3/4 cup of zucchini flesh finely chopped (be sure to remove seeds)

2 eggs

Take the Italian sausage that’s been removed from the casings and fry it in a skillet with the minced garlic until it’s cooked through. Place the cooked sausage garlic mixture in a bowl lined with a paper towel. Set it aside.

Wash the outside of the zucchini and trim the ends off. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise.  Take a paring knife and slide it along the edge of the seeds on each side, going no deeper than 1 inch. Take a spoon and scrape the seeds out. Then using your spoon, gently scrape a little of the zucchini flesh out, so you have about 3/4 to 1 cup. Your zucchini should look like two zucchini canoes. Set the zucchini aside.

Mix together the ricotta, the Aroma Italian seasoning, the mozzarella, the chopped zucchini flesh, the Italian sausage, the chopped basil and two eggs.

Place the halved zucchini in an oblong baking dish and fill each half with the ricotta mixture. (If it’s unsteady, fold some foil under it to hold it in place. Put it in a 350 degree oven for 75 minutes or until the top is browned and the zucchini is fork tender. Remove it from the oven and if you want, serve it with tomato sauce on top. Below is a recipe for some quick tomato sauce if you don’t have any waiting in your freezer.

Quick Tomato Sauce

2 cloves finely minced garlic

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 cans stewed tomatoes (Kirkland or S&W) processed in a food processor until mostly smooth

 

¼ cup merlot

½ tsp. Aroma Italian seasoning

Saute garlic for about a minute, then add tomatoes, Aroma seasoning and merlot. Stir over low heat about 15 minutes. Pour over meatloaf or stuffed zucchini.