Stuffed vegetarian zucchini is a very tasty and flavorful side dish made entirely of vegetables, and I assure you that everyone will appreciate it.
The preparation is a bit long because the vegetables must be cooked before placing them in the zucchini.
I blanched the zucchinis for 5-6 minutes after hollowing them out, to prevent them from being too crunchy after cooking.
The round zucchini are very versatile for various dishes; generally, I stuff them with meat, but this time I thought of them as a side dish.
If you want, you can prepare the vegetables to fill the zucchinis in advance, even the day before, refrigerate them, and then complete the dish the next day, before baking.
This is for those who don’t have much time, so you can divide the preparation into two steps.
Try making the stuffed vegetarian zucchini and let me know if you liked them.
Approximately 293 Kcal for each stuffed zucchini
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 4 zucchinis
- Cooking methods: Slow flame, Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, All seasons
Ingredients for Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini
- 4 Round zucchini
- 1/2 Red bell pepper (or one small)
- 1/2 Yellow bell pepper (or one small)
- 1/2 Eggplant
- 8.8 oz Potatoes
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
- to taste Thyme
- to taste Oregano
- 1.8 oz Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 0.7 oz Breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for final cooking)
Preparation of Stuffed Vegetarian Zucchini
First, hollow out the zucchinis and keep aside the flesh of one zucchini.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and once boiling, add the hollowed zucchinis and let them cook for about 6 minutes, then drain them and let them cool in a colander.
Next, prepare the vegetables for the filling by cutting the eggplants and bell peppers into strips about half a finger long, then peel the potatoes, cut them into small pieces, and add these as well.
In a non-stick pan, add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, combine all the chopped vegetables, including the potatoes, but not the zucchini flesh, stirring occasionally and cooking for about ten minutes, roughly halfway through cooking, then add the chopped zucchini flesh and continue to cook.
When cooking is complete, add salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, mix well, and at the end of cooking, put everything aside in a container and let it cool for about an hour.
When it’s time to stuff the zucchinis, the vegetables will have cooled, and at this point, add the Parmesan to the vegetables and mix well.
Stuff the zucchinis with the vegetable mixture and place them in a high-rimmed baking dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, cover with foil.
Bake in a preheated oven at 482°F for about 1 hour, then remove the foil and complete the cooking until golden brown and serve hot.
