10.18.2009

Stuffed Zucchini

Do you love stuffing as much as I do? In turkeys, chickens, potatoes, pork chops, apples, mushrooms. In anything. Any kind of stuffing. And my stuffed zucchini? This is one recipe that goes on my Thanksgiving table every year.

My kids each have their favorite holiday vegetable so we always end up with lots of veggies on the table. They insist upon my brussel sprout dish and someone asked for corn pudding this year. Did you see Heidi at 101 Cookbooks stuffed an acorn squash with it? So I might steal her idea and fill some acorn squash with my own corn pudding recipe. Along with the stuffed zucchini, my table -hopefully- will bring a smile to everyone's face! Of course a sweet potato pie and mashed potatoes are absolute necessities!

And the stuffed zucchini is vegetarian if that makes a difference to you. It's a Make It Now, Bake It Later kind of dish. (In case you're wondering what I'm talking about-The Make It Now Bake It Later series was comprised of six paperback cookbooks.  You can now get them under one cover; order them used on Amazon- they are real time savers and some really good recipes are to be found there. I still use a lot of them.)
Anyway- you can get the zucchini all ready to go, refrigerate and then bake them at the last minute. Or they can sit out on the counter waiting if your fridge is too jammed with goodies. The flavor of hazelnuts and shiitake mushrooms together is sheer heaven. Stuff away- you'll get kudos.

Stuffed Zucchini




Ingredients:

6 zucchini, medium sized, scrubbed and trimmed
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, diced
1 cup hazelnuts, skinned, toasted and ground *
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup bread crumbs**
1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated

Method:

Halve the zucchini and scoop out pulp, leaving 1/2 inch shells.
Chop pulp. Cook garlic, mushrooms and hazelnuts for 4 minutes. Add zucchini pulp and oregano. Cook 7 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and stir in bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Place in shells and top with monterey jack cheese.
Bake in a 375° oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

* Skinning hazelnuts: the traditional way involves roasting them in a 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan once in a while. Then you dump the hot hazelnuts in a dish towel, grab the corners to bundle it up and vigorously rub the hazelnuts together. It takes a while, but most of the skins come off. Sort of.


The other method is the one I use most often. Boil the hazelnuts in a quart of water with 4 tablespoons of baking soda for 4-5 minutes. Rinse them in a colander under cold water. Some of the skins will come off right then. Others will require you to rub them a little to slip them off. But at least the entire skin comes off. Then dump them in a single layer and bake them in a 350° oven for 10-20 minutes- depending on how much water they absorbed. I use this method when I don't want any skins at all on my hazelnuts.


** Fresh bread crumbs are so much better than packaged. Remove crusts off several slices of day old bread and place in your food processor. Pulse until you get crumbs.

46 comments:

  1. These look amazing. They are also a great vegetarian option, because the mushrooms and the hazelnuts must make it kind of meaty. Delicious.

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  2. wow..this recipe looks truly amazing and super tasty.
    Thank you so very much for visiting my blog and commenting on my bugs and butterflies cake! It was a blast to make!

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  3. This looks so yummy and I love recipes that can be prepped ahead! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. mmmmm. that looks yummy! i love stuffed veggies :0

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  5. that looks REALLY good...and something i can actually make. thanks for sharing...i can't wait to try this!
    xox

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  6. Stuffing is so much fun! It adds more fun to food, I believe :)

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  7. I love zuchini! This must be something totally great!

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  8. This is a great vegetarian recipe! :D I've never tried stuffed zucchini but it looks delicious (I love zucchini too :) )

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  9. Reading your post is making me hungry. Your spread sounds delicious. The stuffed zucchini look great too!

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  10. Your Thanksgiving spread sounds lovely! I am a fan of all things stuffed, and I can see how this delicious zucchini dish would make the perfect vegetarian meal on it's own, or be the perfect accompaniment to a gorgeous Thanksgiving spread!

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  11. I am a big fan of stuffed zucchini, sounds delish!

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  12. This recipe sounds incredible and I love the use of hazelnuts to give it a bit of crunch. This is definitely one I need to try!

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  13. I could eat stuffing all day long...until I was stuffed. Seriously.

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  14. That's such a good mix for a stuffing. Sounds delicious for zucchini!

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  15. No surprise everyone waits for these - they look and sound amazingly delicious...
    I'm bookmarking it!

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  16. These stuffed zucchini look delicious...like the idea of adding shiitake mushrooms, so yummie!

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  17. Simply wonderful, Barbara. Healthy and Yummy. I am definitely going to try that one~ I have one of those books from a long time ago. I will have to dig it out of the cupboard.

    Thanks for stopping by to visit. I will be by again son.

    Stay Cozy, Carrie

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  18. We love zucchini in our house. I made a stuffed zucchini recipe once that my husband loved, and it didn't look nearly as good as this recipe does. I'll have to try this one and really impress him :)

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  19. oh what a fab recipe I know why its on the table at thanksgiving

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  20. Oh yes I do love stuffing...grin...very much! And I love this recipe....hazelnuts? To die for!

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  21. How on earth did you find my blog? So glad you did and I got excited when you mentioned "West with the Wind", I've been searching out that book for sometime, knowing something of Markham's life. How wonderful that you read it, no one else has heard of it, not even my regular book sellers.

    I am pleased to visit your blog, this recipe looks delicious and is on my list of things to try soon as. I also very much like the sound of your pumpkin flan (2 cups of pumpkin, would that be mug fulls? or one medium-sized pumpkin?)

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  22. I love stuffed zucchini, I made similar one using corn and jalapeno. Ibet I am going to love this one too, since I lie shitake mushroom.

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  23. That looks lovely! I love stuffed veggies!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  24. Your blog is so lovely... I am glad I find it!

    And yes for stuffed zucchini. They are tasty and pretty at the same time!

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  25. What lovely recipes you have, I want to read the gingerbread one! Thank you for stopping by my blog, I really do love to have new friends stop in.
    Hugs,
    Margaret B

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  26. I love zucchini and can't wait to give this a try! Your photos are making my mouth water!! Thanks for sharing your lovely recipe!!

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  27. I love stuffed zucchini and am happy to see your recipe--I recently tried to make one up and it turned out weird. Yours looks great!

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  28. ground hazelnuts, eh? that's an awesome component! these wouldn't be near as good without that jack cheese--excellent touch. :)

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  29. Those look and sound delish! Thanks for visiting me today, glad you did :)

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  30. I love stuffed zucchini, looks so yummy! Hazelnuts are a great addition!

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  31. We used to make these when I was a kid! They look lovely.

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  32. Totally yummy!!! I love things you can make now and bake later...so much easier on this mom of 3!

    Your blog is awesome!

    :) T

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  33. Mmm, great recipe idea! Thanks! I have been trying to cook more veggie recipes lately, and this one is perfect for fall!

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  34. Yum! I love make now and bake later type foods. or make now and serve later (like a trifle). So much easier for a party or dinner.

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  35. I love stuffings!! Your stuffed zucchinis look delicious. wow! With hazelnuts.... I LOVE!!!

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  36. thanks so much for stopping by my blog and for your sweet comment! Stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving, actually. Or well, one of them. All of the veggies are actually my favorite. But if you STUFF the VEGGIES...then you really can't go wrong. These look delicious!

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  37. Yum...meeee! I love stuffed zucchini. I sure never had it stuffed like this before. I'm going to have give this recipe a go. I'm intrigued with the idea of hazelnuts. Now, I too am hungry:)

    Thanks for sharing, Barbara

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  38. My dress is comfy. Tacky, pink, glittery and comfy.

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  39. I definitely have to try this, this looks over the top fantastic!

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  40. What a neat idea! I never would have thought of stuffing a zucchini!

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  41. I make something very much like this recipe-but always looking for a little twist-like the cheese. Thanks for the great idea.

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  42. I'm with you on the stuffing Barbara! This looks fabulous- and healthy. Just perfect!

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  43. I LOVE stuffing. The zucchini looks fantastic.

    I prefer the stuffing even more than the turkey at Thanksgiving.

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  44. These look yummy! I love anything with zucchini!!! I've made bowls out of them before but haven't tried this!

    Thanks for checking out my blog!

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  45. I love filling vegetables. This zucchini looks absolutely great.

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  46. YOur stuffed zucchini looks incredibly DELICIOUS!!!

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