Recipe | A Family Favorite Stuffed Zucchini

      Stuffed Zucchini is one of my family's favorite dinners.  It's been quite a while since I have made this.  Erich loves entrees made with a good marinara sauce.  He pretty much will eat anything with a tomato base, which is good for me because most of the meals I make have some sort of  tomato product---just like my mother did. 

      What I love about this recipe is that it's made with ground turkey and it's less fatty than using a red meat, however there is plenty of flavor with all the fresh herbs and marinara sauce.  The prep-work is somewhat time consuming [approx. 45 min.] due to the amount of chopping, mincing and  prepping the zucchini 'boats' but it's worth it.  It bakes for 45 minutes, just enough time to clean up the kitchen + set the table.                                                

Stuffed Zucchini

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion grated and drained

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves chopped

1 large egg

3 tablespoons Heinz ketchup

1 garlic clove finely minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs

1 pound ground turkey

3 medium zucchini ends removed and cut lengthwise

1 jar of favorite marinara sauce ( San Marzano )

                                                        

                                                                                                                Preheat oven to 400* F

Lightly drizzle olive oil into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.  Stir onion, egg, parsley, ketchup, garlic, salt and pepper in large bowl until blended.  Stir in parmesan and bread crumbs.  Mix in the turkey.  Cover and refrigerate turkey mixture.

Using a melon baller or spoon, carefully scrape out the seeds from the zucchini.   

Fill the zucchini 'boats' with turkey mixture and arrange on bottom of the baking dish.  Pour marinara sauce over the zucchini and fill in the empty spaces with the sauce.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and a thermometer inserted into the filling reaches 165*F, about 45 minutes.

I took the baking dish out of the oven after 40 minutes and topped the zucchini with grated mozzarella cheese and returned to the oven for around 7-8 minutes until the cheese started to turn golden brown.

Allow a few minutes for the zucchini to cool before transferring to serving platter. 

 This is the perfect amount of time to cook 8 ounces of rotini pasta [according to the package directions] to toss in the baking dish with the marinara sauce after placing the zucchini on the serving platter.  

      Served with freshly ground parmesan cheese, crusty bread dipped in olive oil scented with garden fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic and a nice glass of Merlot is quite delish!

                                                                     cin, cin!

                                                                buon appetito!

                                                                    ~Marcie