Grandma Ottavia’s Stuffed Zucchini is a recipe originally made by my grandmother and now my mother. They are truly exquisite, tender and crispy, super tasty. Without pre-boiling the zucchini, they will cook in the oven along with the sausage and minced meat filling. If you like, you can also add some cooked ham.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Inexpensive
Preparation time: 40 Minutes
Portions: 6/8 people
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Spring, Summer

Ingredients

1.5 zucchini (to clean)
8.8 oz minced beef
8.8 oz sausage
2 eggs
0.6 cups grated Parmesan (about 5 tablespoons)
0.84 cups breadcrumbs
to taste fine salt (4 or 5 pinches)
to taste garlic powder (2 or 3 pinches)
to taste chopped parsley
to taste grated Parmesan (to sprinkle on top of the stuffed zucchini)
to taste olive oil (to drizzle on top of the stuffed zucchini)

Steps

Wash and clean the zucchini, cut them into three parts (or two depending on their length), then divide each part in half and with a teaspoon (or a melon baller) remove the inner part and place it in a bowl. Arrange the hollowed zucchini on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cut the inner part of the zucchini into small pieces (if you like, you can also put it in a food processor), place it back in a bowl, salt it and wait a few minutes for it to release water. Now squeeze them well and place the pulp in another bowl.
Add the sausage after removing the skin, the minced meat, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt, chopped parsley, garlic powder and mix well. The mixture should be compact but soft.
Salt the zucchini, fill them with the meat mixture, sprinkle the surface with grated Parmesan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil.
Bake in a convection oven at 356°F for about 40 minutes. Check the cooking occasionally.