[Whenever you see the logo to the right, courtesy of A Veggie Venture, it means I'm using local Farmers' Market ingredients.]
When I saw 8-ball zucchini at the nearby farm stand, I snatched some up immediately, even though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them. After all, who can resist squash the size and shape of a pool ball? Stuffing was the obvious option, because otherwise their cute shape would go to waste.
I stuff things a lot, at least when it comes to dishes that eventually wind up on this blog. After all, stuffed vegetables are cute, and when you’re going to be taking photos of a dish, a stuffed baby eggplant is more attractive than an unstuffed one, though not necessarily tastier.
When it comes to ordinary, not-on-the-blog meals, however, I’m not very fond of stuffing. For one thing, it takes a lot longer than just chopping up the vegetable and, say, roasting it or even making raw “noodles” out of it with a spiral cutter. And for another thing, my daughter E. has a inexplicable dislike of stuffed vegetables: Even when she likes the veggie in question and the ingredients of the stuffing, she will automatically hate the stuffed vegetable. So I tend not to go to the trouble too often.
But, as I said, 8-ball zucchini are just too perfectly suited for stuffing, and since E. was out of the house, I decided to fill these cuties with a simple herbed rice mixture similar to what I’ve used on regular zucchini. This time, however, my variegated basil is in full-force, so I let it be the star of this stuffing. Sun-dried tomatoes lend some depth, and a few Kalamata olives pack their usual punch, but the peppery-fresh taste of basil really makes these stuffed zucchini special.
4 8-ball zucchini
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
1 1/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
5 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Cut zucchini tops off about 3/4 inch from the top. Scoop out the insides, being careful to leave a wall about 1/4 inch thick on all sides. Steam zucchini and tops for about 8 minutes, until slightly softened.
Rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes by soaking them in hot water until softened. Remove from water and chop. Reserve soaking water.
Chop the zucchini pulp. Spray a non-stick skillet lightly with olive oil. Over medium-high heat, sauté the garlic for about 1 minute. Add the zucchini pulp and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes, brown rice and almonds, and if the mixture seems dry, add a splash of the tomato liquid. Add the basil leaves, Kalamata olives, and black pepper to taste. Cook until warm, about 3 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Using a spoon, carefully stuff the rice mixture into the zucchini, mounding slightly on top. Place in an uncovered baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot, covered with tops if desired.
4 servings. Per serving: 150 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (25% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 169mg Sodium; 4g Fiber
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Made this but left off the olives. Used red curry paste instead. season to your taste. WE LOVED IT
wowww I made this tonight and it was oh so good! I made 3 with the ‘ronde de nice’ squash, and 2 with ‘pattypans’ and wow! What a great recipe! Will definitely make again. And again!
I tried your recipe, but had to sub zucchini for “ronde de Nice” squash, and I also subbed the rice for quinoa. It was delicious! Thank you!
You can view a picture here :
http://veganamontreal.blogspot.com/2010/10/courgette-ronde-de-nice-farcie-au.html
Here I was at the grocery store staring at these squash. I was like aww they look so cute. Now never had one. How does one cook one exactly. Then I saw gorgeous red Himalayan rice. Bought that as well. Well match made by accident. Now on to the stuffing since I have plenty of basil in the garden. I definitely will be using this recipe again and again. Thanks!
i made this tonight….it was really great. i also thought i might do a version of this in the fall in acorn squash with maybe walnuts and cranberries.
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