Lamb-Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Description
I grew up on zucchini squash. Every summer, Mom would plant a little garden in the backyard and while we all waited impatiently for the home-grown tomatoes, zucchinis were always the heroes of the garden, producing enough squash to feed a small village from only a couple of little seeds.
I still love them and in August, when we reach the height of our summer heat here in northern California, great heaps of them start appearing at the farmer's market and I enjoy coming up with creative ways to utilize the bounty. This year, I came up with this recipe for lamb-stuffed zucchini boats, which moves the zucchini from a supporting role into a starring role as a main dish!
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350*.
Wash the zucchinis and slice them in half. Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds in the middle of the zucchini, leaving a 1/3" (or so) wall.
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In a medium saute pan, saute the onion in oil for a few minutes, until the onions are soft. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute or so until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
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Add the lamb and cook through.
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Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat mixture to a bowl. Stir in the allspice, rosemary, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Stir well to incorporate.
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Pour beaten egg over top of mixture and mix well. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick aluminum foil and place hollowed-out zucchinis on top of foil. Stuff zucchini halves each with 1/4 of the meat mixture. Place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes.
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Remove from oven and add mozzarella cheese.
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Return to oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until the zucchinis are fork tender.
