ITALIAN STUFFED
ZUCCHINI BOATS
This low-carb,
Italian-inspired dish has so much going for it! It involves lean ground turkey,
fresh veggies, and is topped with cheese and toasted bread crumbs. Less guilt
but tons of flavor.
PREP TIME25 MINUTES
COOK TIME22 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME47 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
·
3 medium uniformly-sized zucchini
·
1 24 to 26 ounce jar tomato basil marinara,
divided
·
1 tablespoon olive oil
·
1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
·
1/3 cup chopped onion
·
1 teaspoon minced garlic
·
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
·
1/2 cup chopped brown button mushrooms
·
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
·
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
·
1/2 teaspoon salt
·
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
·
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
·
1-1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
·
1/4 cup shaved or shredded Parmesan
·
2 tablespoons Italian style panko bread crumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Measure out 1 cup of the marinara sauce
and set aside.
2. Trim ends from zucchini and slice in half, lengthwise. Use the tip of a
spoon to scrape out the zucchini flesh (see recipe note), chop it and set it
aside. Place the scooped out zucchini boats into a 13" x 9" baking
dish and add about 1" of water. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven
for 20 minutes, until just slightly fork-tender. Remove from oven, and set
aside to cool slightly.
3. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a 12" skillet and place over MEDIUM
heat. Add turkey (or beef), onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet.
Cook, stirring to break up the ground meat as it cooks. Continue to cook and
stir until meat is thoroughly cooked and veggies have softened. Drain off as
much grease as possible and return the skillet to the heat.
4. Add the chopped zucchini flesh, mushrooms, remaining marinara in jar
(reserve 1 cup for later), parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, fresh ground black
pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, then
reduce heat and allow to simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
5. Remove partially cooked zucchini from baking dish and pour off water.
Pour the 1 cup of reserved marinara sauce into the empty baking dish and place
zucchini boats on top of the sauce.
6. Divide the filling between the zucchini boats. If you have extra
filling, spoon it into the dish around the zucchini boats. Cover the dish with
foil, and bake for 20 minutes, or until zucchini is fork tender. Remove dish
from oven and set oven to BROIL.
7. Remove foil and sprinkle zucchini boats with mozzarella, Parmesan and
the panko bread crumbs. Place dish in oven, watching closely, and cook for just
a couple of minutes until cheese has melted and bread crumbs are golden brown.
RECIPE NOTES
My tip for scraping out zucchini flesh. Use a sharp knife to lightly
score the zucchini to outline the area you want to scoop out being very careful
not to cut through. You just want an outline. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape
the flesh out and on to a cutting board.
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