Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Zucchini halves scooped out and filled with Italian sausage, tomato and mozzarella, then baked for 30 minutes until tender and golden.
Photograph credit: Stuffed Zucchini by Nick Amoscato · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
The Method for Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Halve the zucchini lengthways and scoop out the middles, leaving 1 cm shells. Chop the scooped flesh. Salt the shells and leave for 10 minutes, then pat dry.
-
Bake the shells cut side up for 10 minutes.
-
Heat the oil and brown the sausage meat for 8 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and chopped zucchini for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, breadcrumbs and basil.
-
Fill the shells with the mixture and top with the mozzarella and parmesan.
-
Bake for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Keep an Eye on These
- Salt the shells to draw out water.
- Pre-bake the shells before filling.
- Use the scooped flesh in the filling.
Ingredient Swaps
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
A Little Background
Salt them, then leave them be. Courgettes are about 95 per cent water, and a halved one filled with a moist stuffing will end up swimming in liquid unless you draw some out first. Ten minutes with a sprinkle of salt on the cut surface is all it takes.
Choose medium courgettes, about 20 cm long, which are tender and have few seeds. Large ones are watery and bland. Cut them in half lengthways and scoop out the middle with a teaspoon, leaving a shell about 1 cm thick. Chop the scooped flesh and add it to the filling, because it is perfectly good and gives the stuffing body.
Pre-bake the shells for 10 minutes. A short bake at 200°C / 390°F softens them and lets some of the water escape before the filling goes in. They finish cooking with the stuffing, and are tender but not mushy.
The filling is Italian sausage meat, browned with onion and garlic, then stirred with tinned tomatoes, basil and breadcrumbs. Pile it high in the shells, top with mozzarella and parmesan, and bake until the cheese is golden and the edges of the courgettes are just starting to brown.
To Go With It
Green salad · Garlic bread · Pasta · Red wine
Storing Leftovers
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a 180°C / 355°F oven for 12 minutes.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Italian cooking and dinner ideas from Weekly Delight.
Acquacotta
A rustic Italian soup of onion, celery, tomato and stale bread with an egg poached in the broth.
Busiate al Pesto Trapanese
Trapani's pesto: almonds instead of pine nuts, raw tomato instead of just basil. Made in a mortar and never cooked.
Penne Arrabbiata Bake
Penne tossed in a hot garlic and chilli tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella and parmesan and cooked for 20 minutes.
Peperoni Ripieni
Peppers stuffed with breadcrumbs, olives, capers and tomato and baked for 45 minutes until soft and lightly charred.
Sheet Pan Gnocchi
Shop-bought gnocchi roasted on a tray with sausage, peppers and cherry tomatoes until crisp at the edges. Four…
Tomato Sauce
A basic sauce of tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic and olive oil, simmered until thick and sweet.