Red & white zucchini boats for July 4th

The Fourth of July usually means grilling lots of meat on a grill or two (or four like I have in my outdoor kitchen) but don’t forget your vegetarian family members or friends — here’s a great stuffed zucchini boat you can make on the grill as well.

It already has two colors for the 4th, kudos if you can find a way to add something blue — maybe the plates you serve it on?

Any regular reader of my blog knows I love zucchini and regularly post recipes from famous chefs like Giada D. Follow this link for a page of past posts with zucchini recipes.

But back to the latest recipe I found on a site called SimplyItalian Cooking. The ingredients:

• Medium zucchini
• Onion
• Tomato
• Garlic
• Breadcrumbs
• Italian cheese (Romano or Parmesan)
• Olive oil
• Basil
• Salt and pepper (optional — leave out the salt)

The instructions:

1- Take 3 medium zucchini’s and cut off the ends with the stem and then slice them lengthwise so you end up with 6 halves. This is similar to my zucchini pizza boats recipe, but instead we hollow these out.

You hollow out the zucchini using a spoon and discard the seeds. 

2- Chop the zucchini pulp and save for later.

3- Then chop up 3/4 cup of onion, and 3/4 cup of fresh tomato. Add in a diced clove of garlic. Add it to the bowl of chopped zucchini that we set aside earlier. 

4- Next heat up about 3 Tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Once heated, add the vegetarian stuffing and saute for 5-6 minutes.   

5- Then transfer the mixture from the saute pan back to a bowl and add in 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/4 tbsp basil.

6- Fill each of the zucchini boats. Brush or drizzle on a little olive oil over top and bake in an oven proof pan for 40-50 minutes at 375F.  You can also make these on an outdoor grill, especially if you have a gas one that keeps track of the temperature for you.

Check the original post for any other questions you might have.