MEAT-STUFFED VEGETABLES easy and tasty recipe
This is one of my family’s favorite dishes: meat-stuffed vegetables, and when I make them everyone is happy.
A simple preparation that can transform “humble” ingredients, like garden vegetables — zucchini, onions, eggplants, peppers — some ground meat, an egg or two, a little cheese, a bit of marjoram, into a triumph of flavor.
To be honest, the filling changes depending on what I have in the fridge and pantry. When I want a rich dish, meat and sausage take center stage, as in today’s recipe.
They’re excellent hot but also perfect at room temperature and have the great advantage of being able to be prepared in advance, so they’re a great ally for us wives and moms who need to organize the day in the morning to have a moment of relief in the evening when we’re tired.
You can make them with the seasonal vegetables you prefer. I used onions and zucchini because that’s what I had in the fridge, but bell peppers, eggplants, fennel and even artichokes work well.
Let’s see how to make them right away!
PS … I almost forgot: at the end of the recipe I’ll leave a tasty variation that lets you skip turning on the oven: Raw-stuffed vegetables with tartare!!! Since I tried it it’s been a real revelation!
MEAT-STUFFED VEGETABLES easy and tasty recipe
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Cooking time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: 4 – 6 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 Zucchini (large)
- 1 Onion (large)
- 2 Ripe tomatoes
- 1 Bell pepper
- 7 oz Pork (ground)
- 5 oz Mortadella (Bologna) (chopped)
- 2 oz Cooked ham (chopped)
- 1 Egg (medium)
- 2 oz Ricotta (cow's milk)
- 1.5 oz Parmigiano Reggiano (PDO) (grated)
- 4 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh marjoram (to taste)
- Salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
- Breadcrumbs (to taste)
Preparation
Trim the ends from the zucchinis and cut them in half.
Cut the bell pepper into 4 pieces, remove the stem, seeds and white membranes.
Remove the top from the tomato, hollow it out and remove the seeds. Sprinkle the inside with salt and place it upside down on a plate for 10 minutes so it loses excess liquid.
Finally clean the onions by trimming the ends and removing the outer skin.
Put a pot of lightly salted water on the stove.
When the water boils, cook the zucchinis and onions for about 10 minutes.
After that time, drain them and let them cool slightly.
At this point scoop out the pulp of the zucchinis with a spoon and set it aside; peel the onion layers and hollow them out, keeping that pulp aside as well.
Put two tablespoons of oil in a large pan and, as soon as it heats up, sauté for a couple of minutes the chopped onion and zucchini pulp you set aside.
Take a bowl and put in the cooked onion and zucchini pulp together with the ground pork, the chopped ham and mortadella, the grated Parmigiano, the ricotta, the egg, salt, pepper and a few marjoram leaves.
Mix everything well until you have a homogeneous mixture.
Grease a baking dish with a little oil, take the previously cooked vegetables (zucchini and onion) and the raw vegetables (tomato and bell pepper) and fill each one to the brim with the stuffing.
Arrange them in the baking dish without overlapping.
Sprinkle the entire surface with breadcrumbs and drizzle generously with oil.
Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 356°F for about 35 – 40 minutes; the vegetables should become golden and crispy on the surface.
Remove from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature.
STORAGE
Store stuffed zucchinis in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a maximum of 1-2 days. You can freeze them if you used fresh (not previously frozen) ingredients.
TIPS AND VARIATIONS
Is it hot and you don’t feel like turning on the oven? No problem! Try the raw version of stuffed vegetables with tartare. Enjoy!
1) Make the base for the canapés with tomato slices, zucchini rounds and raw bell pepper strips. Cut 7 oz of beef tenderloin and 7 oz of sea bass or gilt-head bream fillet into very small dice.
2) Prepare a citronette by emulsifying in a small jar with a screw cap: 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon mustard, salt and pepper.
3) Divide the tartare over the pieces of vegetable and dress the raw stuffed vegetables with the prepared dressing.
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If you love vegetables and want to try the vegetarian version, check the recipe for Ligurian-style stuffed vegetables https://blog.giallozafferano.it/atavolacontea/ripieni-verdure/
