Stuffed Zucchini Pesaro-Style
- 8 medium zucchini
- 1/4 extra-virgin olive oil
- 10 ounces ground veal
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
- 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 pound firm, ripe tomatoespeeled, seeded and cut into several pieces, or 1 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juices
- Soak the zucchini in cold water for 30 minutes.
- scrub them under cold running water with a brush to remove any grit.
- Slice off both ends and, using an apple corer, hollow out the zucchini; the aim is to scoop out their centers, leaving tubes with thin walls that will hold the meat stuffing.
- Be careful not to pierce the skins.
- Chop the scooped-out zucchini flesh rather fine and set aside.
- Put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet and turn the heat to moderately high.
- When the oil is hot enough to sizzle instantly on contact with meat, add the ground veal and cook it until lightly browned, turning it a few times, about 4 minutes.
- use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a bowl.
- Do not clean out the skillet.
- Put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in the skillet.
- Add the garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
- Add the chopped zucchini flesh to the skillet and brown it lightly over moderate heat, turning it from time to time, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer the zucchini to the bowl of veal.
- Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Mix the ingredients to combine them uniformly.
- Fill the hollowed-out zucchini with the stuffing, packing it snugly.
- Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet and turn the heat to moderately high.
- As soon as the oil is hot, put in as many zucchini as will fit loosely in a single layer.
- Brown the zucchini on all sides, turning them as necessary; if a little bit of the stuffing falls out, it's of no consequence.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned zucchini to a platter.
- Repeat with any remaining zucchini.
- Do not clean out the pan.
- Add the chopped onion to the pan and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until lightly golden, about 3 minutes.
- Return all of the zucchini to the skillet and add the wine.
- While the wine bubbles away, use a wooden spoon to scrape any residues from the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle the zucchini lightly with salt.
- Add the tomatoes with their juices and turn over the contents of the pan once or twice.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, gently turning the zucchini from time to time.
- When they are very tender and the sauce is richly flavored, remove from the heat.
- Let stand for about 5 minutes before serving.
zucchini, extravirgin olive oil, ground veal, garlic, freshly grated parmigianoreggiano cheese, salt, onion, white wine, firm
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/stuffed-zucchini-pesaro-style (may not work)