Now is the time to use Mother Nature’s gift from your (or your friends) garden! I don’t have a green thumb but I do like to use the fresh goodies that my friends have grown in their vegetable gardens. In return I make sure to document and share the recipes I created. The zucchini boats came to be as a the result of an overgrown zucchini and plenty of herbs. You can make them ahead of time and you don’t have to use such a huge zucchini. Mine was 15″ long with a diameter of about 4″! For those big zucchinis make sure to use a good knife when you cut them so you end up with 2 halves and not 1/4 and 3/4. I used my favorite chef’s knife from Fissler. The fresh garden tomatoes are sometimes hard to cut as well. Here I love to use my serrated tomato knife from Wenger. (On a side note I use only 2 more knives in my kitchen, a bread knife and a vegetable knife. That’s all I need and of course a good sharpening steel.) But now back to the Zucchini Boats. Here you go:
Zucchini Boats
Print recipe
| Serves | 6-8 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 40 minutes |
| Total time | 50 minutes |
| Dietary | Gluten Free |
| Meal type | Main Dish |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot |
Ingredients
- 1 Overgrown Zucchini (Cut lengthwise in half)
- 2lb Ground Beef
- 1 handful Parseley (finely chopped)
- 1/2 handful Basil (finely chopped)
- 1 Large Garden Tomato (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 Medium Onion (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper (freshly ground)
- 1 cup Raclette Cheese (freshly grated)
Directions
| 1. | |
| Preheat oven to 400F. | |
| 2. | |
| In a big bowl mix all ingredients except for the zucchini and the cheese. | |
| 3. | |
| Remove the softer middle of the zucchini. | |
| 4. | |
| Fill the zucchini halves with the ground beef mixture. | |
| 5. | |
| Position on a cookie sheet or an oven pan. | |
| 6. | |
| Place the pan in the oven for about 30 minutes. The cooking time depends on the size of the zucchini and the thickness of the meat filling. | |
| 7. | |
| Spread the cheese over the zucchini boats and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. | |
| 8. | |
|
Serve with rice or fresh baguette. |  |
Note
I used raclette cheese for this recipe but any kind of nicely melting, flavorful cheese will do.
Tagged: #9cl, basil, easy dinner, family dining, raclette cheese, zucchini