Baked stuffed zucchini: a tasty side for your table.

Stuffed zucchini baked in the oven are a simple and quick dish to prepare but extremely delicious, a different side dish perfect for surprising your guests at the table. Zucchini are a typical summer vegetable, although they are now available all year round and have some important properties.

First of all, they have an extremely low caloric content, as they are made up of 90% water, but they are also low in salt and easy to digest. Baked stuffed zucchini are a great compromise for a delicious yet healthy side dish that everyone can enjoy, even the little ones. 

But which varieties of zucchini can be used to prepare baked stuffed zucchini? Let's explore some together.
 

Baked stuffed zucchini: which ones to use?

To cook baked stuffed zucchini, we must first choose the right zucchini: depending on the chosen zucchini, shapes, colors, and flavors vary. The first one that comes to mind for preparing baked stuffed zucchini is definitely the classic zucchini, long, thin, and dark green, but other more particular varieties can also be tried.

The important thing is to choose the shape you prefer! If you want to prepare the baked stuffed zucchini of your dreams using long zucchini, other possible candidates can be the Alberello di Sarzana zucchini, the Bolognese zucchini, or the Afrodite zucchini. Some longer but special varieties to amaze your diners with truly unusual baked stuffed zucchini are the striped zucchini, the white zucchini, and the yellow zucchini.

That said, we must mention that round stuffed zucchini can also be prepared, a different shape of zucchini but just as delicious! Round baked stuffed zucchini are ideal for making a filling based on provolone cheese and smoked ham or tuna and capers.
 

How to make meat stuffed zucchini?

How to prepare meat stuffed zucchini? Today we propose a simple recipe: you will need zucchini, calculate at least one zucchini per portion, ground beef, but you can choose the type of meat you prefer, breadcrumbs, one egg for every four zucchinis, salt, grated Parmigiano cheese, extra virgin olive oil, milk, and cooked ham.

The procedure to prepare the filling for meat stuffed zucchini is essentially the same as making meatballs: in a bowl, mix ground meat, the egg, Parmigiano, chopped ham, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper until you get a homogeneous mixture.  Meanwhile, blanch the zucchini in lightly salted water for about 5 minutes to soften the flesh just enough since you will then need to cut them in half lengthwise and hollow them out to create space for the filling.

The zucchini should be then filled with the pre-prepared filling and baked at 180°C for about 30 minutes, always paying attention to the cooking of the filling. To give a touch of crunchiness, it is recommended to sprinkle the meat stuffed zucchini with a bit of breadcrumbs and some grated Parmigiano cheese.
 

How to make vegetarian stuffed zucchini?

To cook vegetarian stuffed zucchini baked, or zucchini stuffed without meat, there are actually several recipes. The procedure for cooking the zucchini is always the same; only the ingredients used to prepare the filling change.

Today we propose a particular recipe: zucchini stuffed without meat with a filling of zucchini! First, take a pan and make a quick sauté, where you will cook small chopped cherry tomatoes, capers, the flesh extracted from the zucchini, salt, and pepper over low heat for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, mix breadcrumbs, Parmigiano, and herbs such as parsley and oregano, which you will then add to the filling ingredients during cooking.

Now fill the zucchinis and bake at 200°C for 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve at the table: you will see how delicious it is! These are just a few recipes for preparing baked stuffed zucchini, but in reality, there are many others. Discover on Spaghetti&Mandolino/en/ what you could use to prepare your customized recipe for baked stuffed zucchini. Don't forget that we also have organic zucchini available.

Ilaria Chesini

S&M