I don't really stuff them, but I do sometimes substitute zucchini for eggplant in my Eggplant Parmigiana recipe, but then I sometimes also substitute okra! With zucchini, I grill slices of them very slightly and then dredge them in toasted bread crumbs and then layer them in with Mozzarella/Asiago/Parmesan cheese and pasta sauce.

Thanks. Lars. Sounds delicious.

I use the same stuffing as in green peppers, rice, ground beef, spaghetti sauce, melt some mozzarella and parm on top.

How big are your zuchs? Do you partially cook them before stuffing? I'm asking my DH to pick them between 8-10". What temperature and for how long? Covered or not in the oven?

(Forgot to ask Lars these questions). I'm a total newbie to stuffed Z's.

thanks

When I used to get over loaded, especially with those accidentally super sized ones, I stuffed them into the compost bucket; heh! But recently I discovered what I guess are zucchini fritters. There are a couple on line recipes that are similar. I think I started using bread crumbs but now usually just use flour to thicken a mix of an egg, a couple processor shredded, heavily salted and after a rest--drained with squeezing, zucchini (even a big one with the center seed area removed), some grated parmesan and some other convenient cheese, and a spice (I have been using large amounts of cumin). I pan fry flattened glops in a little butter in oil for a few minutes on each side. Really tasty; can't fight cheese. The only concern is watching squeezed zucchini vitamins flowing down the drain. Perhaps they could be poured on thin potato slices for chips?

Fritters are one of my favorite things to make w/ zukes.

I seldom stuff zucchini, although sometimes I slice them thinly and roast them with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Elery did make some stuffed with cheese, tomatoes and bread crumbs. Everything Elery makes is stuffed/sprinkled/rolled/grilled with cheese, LOL. My favorite recipe needs fresh tomatoes too, so if you have those, you're good to go. And it does take some cheese. (grin)

Gratin of Zucchini and Tomatoes (Eating Well)

• • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• ⅔ cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 cups fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs, (see Tip), divided
• ½ cup finely chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• • 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 medium zucchini, (about 1¾ pounds total), sliced on the bias about ¼ inch thick
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• 1Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (or similar gratin dish) with cooking spray.
• 2Place garlic, basil and thyme on your chopping board; mince well. Spread half the breadcrumbs evenly in the prepared baking dish. Strew onion over the breadcrumbs. Distribute half the diced tomato over the onion, then sprinkle with half the garlic-herb mixture. Sprinkle with vinegar and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
• 3Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a third of the zucchini; you want it to saute, not stew, so don't crowd it. Saute, turning the pieces once, until golden and not quite tender, 1 to 1½ minutes per side. When the slices are done, use a fork to transfer them to the gratin, overlapping the slices. Cook the remaining zucchini in two batches, each time using 2 teaspoons oil. Strew the remaining tomatoes and garlic-herb mixture over the zucchini. Season with the remaining ⅛ teaspoon salt and a grinding of pepper. Toss the remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle over the gratin.
• 4Bake the gratin until bubbly hot, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Annie

Not stuffed but I made a wonderful dish with tomatoes and potatoes -- vegetable tian -- a picture and the recipe are here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4803084/vegetable-tian?n=5

In the south of France, in Nice, they have a wonderful dish called les petits farcis de Nice.

What you do is collect some veggies, courgettes, preferably spherical ones but you can use lengths of your usual ones. Onions, aubergine, peppers, potatoes......whatever you have. You make a stuffing of whatever you have based on some leftover cooked meat, minced, along with garlic, onion, little stale bread softened in some milk, an egg...... You know how to make a tasty stuffing. Hollow out your veg, using the hollow in the stuffing, stuff and bake.

There are more elaborate versions where each veg has a different stuffing, but this be so one can be really good. Satisfying cooking and eating.

One variety I grow is Ronde de Nice where I cut a small sliver off the bottom, hollow out and stuff with ground meat of some sort (normally bee or lamb) that has been cooked with onion, tomato, garlic and whatever seasonings sound good at the time.

For zucchini boats, I like them stuffed with a meat enchilada filling (often shredded chicken, seasoned with enchilada sauce) onion and cheese. There are also pizza style zucchini boats with a bit of cheese, pepperoni, ground beef, etc. I also do calabacita zucchini boats: Saute the zucchini innards with onion, corn, garlic, and green chile. Add some cream cheese and stuff in the boats and bake. The cream cheese can be replaced with cheddar or queso fresco.

I will say that I think the stuffed zucchini tastes better if the shells are blanched first, but, I rarely have the time or the will to do that. So, I add a bit of water or broth to the bottom of the pan to steam the zucchini while it cooks. This week I will be layering zucchini slices with bolognese sauce and cheese for a kind of lasagna.

Seagrass, when I make my zucchini casserole dish, I do grill the zucchini slices first, and I choose small zucchini because they are more tender. I use an electric meat slicer to get the slices uniform, and I put olive oil and black pepper on them before grilling them, but little or no salt, as the cheese and sauce in the dish already has salt, and I prefer unsalted zucchini. I grill them only briefly - just enough to remove a bit of water and to make the toasted bread crumbs adhere.

I generally bake the casserole covered at 360° for 30 minutes. I use my Corningware pan because it has its own Pyrex lid. Sometimes I sprinkle grated Parmesan on top at the end and bake it uncovered for five more minutes.

Here's a recipe that I've saved, but not yet made. It's from the NY Times, so it's probably pretty tasty!

zucchini-cake-with-ginger-and-hazelnuts