Stuffed Zuchinni (vegetarian or vegan)

Our neighbour gave us two giant zuchinnis, so I made a large batch of stuffed zuchinni. Now I don’t have to cook this weekend :slight_smile:

The day before making this dish, I cooked 1 cup of quinoa.

To cook the quinoa:

1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups water

Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the water boils, then lower the heat and let simmer until all the water evaporates. Put a lid on the pot and leave it for about 10 minutes, then mix it up so the top finishes cooking with the heat from the rest of the grains.

The next day, I hollowed out the zuchinni and set it aside, reserving the “meat” of the zuchinni in a bowl.

I melted about a tablespoon of vegan margarine (regular margarine or butter works, too) in a large skillet, then added the zuchinni’s insides.

I added Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder (to save time; you could use fresh onions and garlic too–if so, fry them before adding the zuchinni).

Then I added a large can of diced tomatoes & herbs.

And a very large helping of spinach that I wanted to use up.

Mix it up and cook until the spinach is cooked down.

After this point I forgot to take pictures :frowning: but the steps are as follows:

I added a little bit of tomato sauce that I wanted to use up.

Then I let the whole thing simmer until most of the liquid was evaporated.

Turn oven on to 350 F.

In a baking pan, add a small amount of water, just enough to cover the bottom. Put 2 zuchinni halves into the baking pan, and then scoop the skillet mixture into the hollowed out zuchinni. If you want to keep it vegan, bake as is, or if you’re good with cheese, sprinkle some parmesan on top (that’s what I did).

Bake for 20 minutes if you prefer the zuchinni a little crunchy, 25-30 if you prefer it very soft.

Enjoy! I did :slight_smile:

P.S. This dish was isnpired by the children’s picture book “What’s cooking, Jamela?”

10 Likes

Yummy! This looks great.

1 Like

Well this looks and sounds delicious!!

1 Like

Oh, man! I can practically smell & taste it.yum!

1 Like

ooh! I need to try something like this…Ooh! Make it a breakfast zucchini and slice in about 3 inch blocks, and freeze. Then just heat and eat. :thinking: The thinker is awash with idears.

1 Like

mmm freezing food to eat later is awesome for days when I just don’t feel like cooking. The only thing about freezing the zuchini is that it might be watery when you defrost it :frowning:

found that out yesterday. Made the rest of the zucchini bread from like a week ago, and had put the rest of the shredded zucchini in the freezer…:face_with_spiral_eyes: Well, it was still usable, but man what a…erm…mass of water crystal covered shredded zucchini, heh.

However, if it’s possible to harness that frozen power (wiltiness?)…the blocks would/should flatten out and could be fried like…well flat…Hmm! I think I see an interesting experiment coming my way.

1 Like