I bet you know what I’m talking about.
If you grow zucchini, chances are good that you have way too much zucchini.
If you’ve turned your back on your heavily producing zucchini plant for more than a day or two, chances are even better that at least one zucchini is waaayyyy bigger than anything you could’ve imagined – yes, there are giants among us.
And let’s not even get started on the fact that you likely planted all the seeds that came in that little seed packet…or you may even have been looking for variety, so you have zucchini in multiple sizes, shapes, colors…!!!
Zucchini. You’ve gotta love it. Nearly every gardener I know plants one or several plants every single spring, and then every single Summer, begins lamenting (half-smiling) that they are running out of ideas on how to eat it. They give it away. They start hiding it in food they serve to their children. They put it in cakes. They grill it. They leave it on doorsteps. Things begin to look a little desperate. Every single year.
Let’s start first with that big giant zucchini. I was gifted several zucchini by my neighbor gardener late last week. She’d planted 8 or 9 zucchini plants, and her husband begged her to “please, just give some away!!!”. With my zucchini plants failing to produce almost entirely (don’t ask – it’s the rabbits – they’ve been snacking all summer long on everything from onion tops, to kale, to squash) I was more than happy to pack some into my bike basket and haul them home. One was HUGE, and I had a grin to match. Why? Because I’d been waiting all summer for a chance to stuff a zucchini with pilaf and create a full meal out of it.
Zucchini is a highly nutritious plant. It is:
- low-calorie: just 36 calories per cup/100g
- high in antioxidants
- a primary food source of alpha carotene and beta carotene
- a good source of the polysaccharides that have been linked in animal studies to protection against diabetes and for insulin regulation
- an excellent source of copper, manganese
- a good source of vitamin C, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, potassium, folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin K
Source: www.whfoods.com
And be sure to include the skin in your recipe: it contains a high portion of the above benefits, so get those into your belly, and not the compost.
That over-sized zucchini is an asset, it really is. Once you try this recipe, you’ll be tempted to leave a few zucchini to grow until the reach the giant size of this one so you can make it again and again. If there are leftovers, it reheats well and freezes well too. So go ahead, go crazy with this one. And then maybe next year, you’ll add a couple more zucchini plants than last year…maybe…
Stuffed Zucchini with Quinoa Porcini Pilaf
Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F
Step 1: Prepare the Quinoa
- 1 cup / 2 dl Quinoa
- 1 3/4 cups / 3 1.2 dl water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Combine the ingredients in a small pot with a lid. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer; cover; and cook for 25 minutes over low heat.
Step 2. Prepare the zucchini
- 1 giant zucchini (1 foot / 0.3 meters or longer)
- salt, pepper, fresh lemon
Wash and dry the zucchini. Cut it in half lengthwise through the stem. Using a spoon, carve out the center pith with the seeds, and place the pith in a bowl for use later. Scape out a little more of the zucchini to create an even “bowl” in the center of each half. Sprinkle the inside of the zucchini evenly with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Place on a parchment-lined oven pan, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
Step 3: Prepare the filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb/1 liter/400g fresh or frozen porcini mushrooms/herkkutatti/ceps/boletus edulis or 30g dried porcini soaked for 15 minutes in hot water, drained)
- cooked Quinoa from step one, above (3 cups/6 dl)
- 1/2 cup 1 dl grated carrots
- 1/2 cup diced red or yellow sweet pepper (paprika)
- 6 sundried tomatoes in oil, minced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh, minced parsley
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- parsley and yogurt for garnish
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy frying pan. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Chop the zucchini center/pith into small pieces and add it to the pan.
Add the Quinoa, carrots, sweet pepper, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, sage, salt and pepper, and stir well to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 10 minutes, allowing the excess liquid to steam away so the mixture is fairly dry. Add the lemon juice and parsley and stir well. Taste; add more salt/pepper if desired.
Step 4: Assemble & Bake
Pour out any liquid that has pooled in the bottom of the zucchini halves, being careful not to break them. Return them to the baking sheet, and divide the Quinoa filling evenly between the two halves, mounding it up high and packing it in. (if it doesn’t all quite fit, store the remainder in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days).
Place the stuffed zucchini halves into the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the zucchini pan from oven and allow the halves to cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
To serve, transfer zucchini to a large tray and drizzle with plain yogurt and sprinkle fresh parsley over the top. For a complete meal, serve with a green salad.
Serves 6-8.
Need more zucchini ideas? Try these:
- Zucchini Potato Gratin
- Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant with Lemon Mint Yogurt Dip
- Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Cake
- Hank Shaw’s Sicilian Dried Zucchini
Did you like this recipe? Let us know in the comments below!