Zucchini Boats

Zucchinis are one of my very favorite vegetables. I love the taste of a fresh zucchini but I rarely do anything besides sautéed them or roast them. While on the search for what to do with the zucchini bounty I found myself in a few weeks ago, I came across a recipe for zucchini boats on one of my favorite food blogs, Annie’s Eats.

Once you get the basics of this recipe down you can play around with it. Instead of using ground turkey you can use chicken sausage, ground beef, lamb etc. You can also easily make an all-vegetarian version by leaving out the meat or adding in tofu instead. While this version has more Italian tastes you can easily make a Greek version with lamb and feta, instead of turkey and Parmesan. The possibilities are endless.

This recipe makes a healthy, light dinner with a leafy green salad.

Zucchini Boats

4 6-inch zucchinis
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
½ cup onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mushroom (I used cremini), chopped
1 lb ground turkey
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2-3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon, salt
½ teaspoon, fresh ground pepper

1.    Cut zucchinis in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides (I used a grapefruit spoon, which made it easier), leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick. Reserve half of the insides (roughly chop if too large).
2.    In a medium skilled over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3.    Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture. Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil, thyme, and rosemary Cook for 1 more minute. Drain any excess fat, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
4.    Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Once the turkey mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. Fill a baking dish with ¼-inches of water. Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated over for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

Serves 4 (1 zucchini half per person)