Friday, August 30, 2013

Cheesy Mushroom Zucchini Boats

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While spending time with family this summer, one of my aunts recruited me to help her recreate a zucchini boat recipe that she had once made, but could no longer find the instructions for. I thought it was going to just be your every day, run-of-the-mill sort of grilled zucchini boats, like one might eat at a summer barbecue (is that a normal barbecue food, or is that just something my family does?). Wrong, wrong, wrong was I! Armed with four different handwritten stuffed zucchini boat recipes that my aunt mysteriously produced, we set about combining and adjusting them until we arrived at something we were pleased with. This is the result, and although it is a bit labor-intensive, it is definitely tasty. And a good way to use up the last summer zucchini and impress the guests you feed it to, to boot!

Cheesy Mushroom Zucchini Boats

Ingredients:
2 big zucchinis (this is a good way to use the overgrown club-like ones from your garden)
Cooking spray or olive oil
1-8 oz. package button mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion (yellow or white)
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 C. shredded Italian blend cheese
1/2 C. fresh grated parmesan
1/2 C. ricotta
1 C. bread crumbs

Topping
2 Tbsp. parmesan
2 Tbsp. bread crumbs
1 tsp. salt

  1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.
  2. Take your humongous zucchinis (have a gander at the photo below if you’d like an idea of exactly how humongous we’re talking about), and cut them in half lengthwise, and then in half again crosswise.
  3. Hollow them out, leaving about 1/4” of shell. You can use a paring knife to slice out the zucchini stuff, or you can use a grapefruit spoon to excavate and scrape it out. Or use a combo of both! We ended up settling on a teamwork approach with my aunt cutting out most of the stuff and then me cleaning up with the grapefruit spoon. Put all the cut up zucchini insides in a bowl to save for later.
     photo IMG_1677_zpse904bcd1.jpg
    Slice and…
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    Scrape!
  4. Clean and chop the mushrooms. Mince the garlic and onion. Get all the knife work out of the way in one step!
     photo IMG_1679_zps4cd87f45.jpg
    Cat treats optional.
  5. In a large frying pan, melt the 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onion until fragrant, and then add the chopped mushrooms.
     photo IMG_1680_zps4346c4fa.jpg
    Mmm…
  6. Sauté the shroomies and add the 2 tsp. of lemon juice. Cook for about 3 minutes, and then add all the chopped zucchini insides. Add 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning and a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper, and cook it for about 3-4 minutes, or until the juices come out.
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  7. Take the veggie mixture out of the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer it into a large mixing bowl. (It’s okay if a little liquid hitchhikes along.) Add the cup of Italian cheese blend, 1/2 cup of parmesan, 1/2 cup of ricotta, and 1 cup bread crumbs, and mix well.
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    Cheeeeeesy…
  8. Arrange the boats in a glass baking dish that’s been cooking sprayed or olive oiled down, and use a spoon to fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. If there’s more than you can fit in the shells, it tastes good on top of crackers, as well!
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    Empty, then…
     photo IMG_1684_zpsae27f268.jpg
    …presto!
  9. In a small bowl, mix the 2 Tbsp. of parmesan with the 2 Tbsp. of bread crumbs and 1 tsp. of salt. Sprinkle this on top of the zucchini boats so you will have a nice, crispy topping to all the cheesy goodness.
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    Sprinkle, sprinkle!
  10. Slide the baking dish in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and the crumbs on top are toasted lightly brown.
     photo IMG_1688_zps43b5f78b.jpg
    Almost done!
  11. Take it out of the oven and serve! A boat makes a good meal by itself, or you can serve them with pan-fried chicken for a tasty treat.
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    Ta-dahhh!

How do you like to bring tasty veggie goodness to your table? Do you have any summer party recipes you break out when you want to impress?

7 comments:

Ashley Greenidge said...

So delicious! I used to love stuffed zucchini when I was a kid! Will be making these soon for sure.

Alyssa L. said...

Yum! What did the ones you ate as a kid have for filling? I am interested in variations. :)

Ashley Greenidge said...

I'm fairly certain they were just zucchini, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs--but I'll check with mom! I really want to try this with butternut squash added into the filling as well.

Alyssa L. said...

Mmm, butternut squash is always a welcome addition! :D

Feliza said...

It looks so tasty... I may have to try, even if Boyfriend refuses to eat anything with mushrooms...


More for me, right?

Alyssa L. said...

Haha, of course! Maybe if you chop them up really tiny he won't notice they're there? ;-)

Feliza said...

That is basically my plan any time I want to make recipes with mushrooms...

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