The title of today’s post says it all. Zucchini season has arrived, and the annual how-to-make-zucchini-edible conundrum has begun. The picture above shows my first stab at the solving the puzzle. This recipe comes from the cookbook I picked up at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. Since I altered it quite a bit, here’s the original recipe, followed by my changes and recommendations.
Stuffed Zucchini
6 medium zucchini 1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 cups butter crackers 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs, beaten
1 small onion, minced 2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons parsley, minced
Wash zucchini and cut off ends, but do not peel. Cook in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes or until tender. Halve lengthwise. Remove pulp with spoon. Combine pulp, crackers, cheese, onion, parsley, salt, pepper, and eggs. Fill zucchini shells with mixture and dot with butter. Sprinkle with additional cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
My zucchini was closer to large than medium, so I cut off the ends and cut it in half before boiling. Even so I had to boil it close to 15 minutes before it was tender. When scraping out the pulp, leave a good 1/4 – 1/2 inch of flesh next to the peel so the shell keeps its shape. Also, the recipe doesn’t say to crush the crackers, but that’s what I did until I had 2 cups of crushed crackers.
Even so, I had more than enough – probably could have halved the whole filling recipe and had enough. As you can see, I sprinkled bacon bits on top because Hiram is a meat guy, and I though the recipe would be bland otherwise. Looking back, they were plenty tasty and satisfying. So maybe the bacon isn’t necessary.
If you fool around with the recipe, leave a comment about your alterations. With more zucchini in the fridge, I could use a new challenge!
