Mediterranean stuffed zucchini, a tasty vegetarian dish, made with round zucchinis filled with a delicious stuffing made from the same zucchinis. I used the pulp I removed from inside to stuff them, flavored with Tropea red onion, cherry tomatoes, capers, and Calabrian monastic olives, but Taggiasca olives, which are very similar, can be used as an alternative. In just a few minutes while blanching the hollowed zucchinis, we sauté all the vegetables that will compose the stuffing, made even tastier with a bit of cheese. I chose Emmental, cut into cubes, which tastes divine, but if you prefer, you can use other cheeses you like more. Here are my favorite zucchini recipes. All zucchini recipes
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 zucchinis (for 2 people)
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Fall
Ingredients Mediterranean stuffed zucchini
- 4 round zucchinis (or long)
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- 5 salt-cured capers
- 10 olives (Calabrian monastic or taggiasca)
- 1 Tropea red onion
- 2.8 oz emmental
- 3 tbsps breadcrumbs
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
Tools to prepare meatless stuffed zucchini
- 1 Knife
- 1 Teaspoon
- 1 Pan
- 1 Pot
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Baking pan
- 1 Slotted spoon
- 1 Plate
Preparation steps for vegetarian stuffed zucchini
Place a large pot filled halfway with water on the stove and bring to a boil, which will be used to quickly blanch the zucchinis.
Meanwhile, wash the zucchinis, remove the cap at the base, and score the pulp in a circle with a pointed knife without digging too deep. Use a teaspoon to remove the cut portion and gradually hollow out the entire inside of the zucchini, leaving just under 0.4 inches, without digging too deep or breaking it. Hollow out all the zucchinis like this. Set the pulp aside for the stuffing.
Once the water boils, cook the zucchinis along with the caps, which I slightly hollowed to better fit on the stuffed zucchini later. Cook the zucchinis for about 3-5 minutes from boiling. Be careful that they remain firm and not mushy, so cook them lightly—they should be soft but not falling apart. Gently remove them with a slotted spoon without breaking them, and let them cool on a plate.
Prepare a coarse chop of red onion and cook in a pan with a little olive oil. Add chopped olives and a few more capers without rinsing them, allowing them to flavor over low heat. Meanwhile, chop the zucchini pulp more finely and add it to the onion, along with the chopped cherry tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and continue cooking covered for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally and cook until the zucchinis become soft and completely dry, then transfer to a bowl.
Add breadcrumbs to the mixture, using about 3 tablespoons, which is the perfect amount to keep the stuffing soft and fill all 4 zucchinis. When the mixture has cooled slightly, also add the cheese cut into very small cubes to make our stuffed zucchinis special. If you do not eat cheese or want to keep the dish completely vegan, simply do not add it, but add another tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Mix the stuffing well.
Drain and cool the zucchinis, lightly salting them by sprinkling a small amount inside. Then stuff them completely, even slightly above the edge, without pressing too much. Close with the cap removed at the beginning.
Place a little olive oil in a baking pan, arrange the zucchinis inside, drizzle with a little more oil, and bake in a static oven preheated to 392°F for about 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before serving our delicious Mediterranean stuffed zucchinis without meat with cherry tomatoes, olives, and capers.
Stuffed zucchinis can be made in advance and frozen, just reheat them in the oven and they will taste freshly made. They can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days and are great to serve cold as well. You can serve the stuffed zucchinis without meat as an appetizer, a second course, or a main dish as I did for dinner, great to eat without bread. They can be made gluten-free using gluten-free breadcrumbs.
