Lately round zucchini have shown up around here. After seeing Marina using them to make stuffed zucchini, I thought I’d try that too. My version is vegetarian, but I did use her idea of using coriander seed to give an interesting flavor to the stuffing. Since I had an unexpected guest for dinner, I had to quickly pick up an additional zucchini and thus prepared the same with a regular one as well. The round zucchini is more photogenic, but the regular zucchini has as an advantage that the stuffing gets nicely browned and slightly crispy. I really liked the result and actually liked this better than the stuffed zucchini I made before. These stuffed zucchini can be served as an appetizer or as a side.

Ingredients

For 3-6 servings

4-6 round zucchini or 2-3 regular zucchini

1 onion, minced

1 Tbsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley

2 Tbsp basil chiffonade

1/2 tsp ground coriander seed

50 grams (1.8 oz) stale white bread without crusts

25 grams (2 1/2 Tbsp) freshly grated pecorino (sardo)

25 grams (2 1/2 Tbsp) freshly grated parmigiano reggiano

salt and freshly ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Steam the zucchini for 10 minutes. Cut a regular zucchini in half if needed to fit.

Allow to cool until you can handle them. For round zucchini, cut off the ‘cap’ and remove the pulp with a spoon. Allow the hollowed out zucchini to drain to get rid of excess water.

For regular zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and remove the pulp with a spoon. Allow the hollowed out zucchini to drain to get rid of excess water.

Sauté the onion in some olive oil until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Add the zucchini pulp and increase the heat.

Sauté until the mixture is somewhat dry.

Grind the bread in the food processor.

Combine the onion-zucchini pulp mixture with the bread crumbs, the pecorino, the parmigiano, the coriander, the parsley, and the basil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. I used 1/2 tsp of salt. Add about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and stir to mix until the mixture is homogeneous. Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be seasoned generously.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF (fan forced). Lightly grease an oven dish with olive oil. Season the zucchini lightly with salt and then stuff them with the filling. Arrange the stuffed zucchini in the oven dish and sprinkle with olive oil. Leave the caps off the round zucchini, so the stuffing inside can turn golden.

Roast for 20 minutes at 200ºC/400ºF (fan forced), or until golden.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Flashback

One of my favorite desserts is so simple: strawberries macerated with balsamic and honey. “Macerate” sounds very fancy but it is very easy: just mix the strawberries with a bit of balsamic and honey and let stand for half an hour to an hour, stirring a few times. Even mediocre strawberries become a treat, especially if you use good aged balsamic. That stuff is expensive, but you won’t need a whole lot of it.