Stuffed Vegetables
- 4 cups 1-inch cubes of day-old country bread
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 medium zucchini
- 3 large stalks celery, peeled
- 2 red bell peppers
- 2 sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla
- 1 cup finely chopped scallions (about 1 small bunch)
- 2 cups grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 4 ounces provola, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pour the milk over the bread in a bowl, and let sit for 20 minutes, pressing the bread into the milk.
- Prepare the vegetables for stuffing: Halve the zucchini crosswise, then lengthwise, to make twelve pieces.
- Scoop out the centers to make boats.
- Finely chop the scooped-out centers, and put them in a large bowl.
- Cut the celery stalks into 4-inch lengths.
- Cut each bell pepper into four segments, at the natural breaks in the ribs, and remove stems and seeds.
- Peel onions, halve them crosswise, then cut each in half crosswise again, to get eight rings in all.
- Remove the inner pieces of onion, to make onion boats.
- Set the boats aside, and chop and reserve the smaller inner parts of the onions.
- Squeeze the excess milk from the bread.
- Combine the bread with the chopped zucchini.
- Add the scallions, 1 cup of the grated cheese, the provola, the parsley, and 1 teaspoon of the salt.
- Mix well.
- Season the vegetables to be stuffed with 1/4 cup olive oil and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt.
- Brush two large baking dishes with 3 tablespoons olive oil each.
- Scatter the chopped onion in the bottom of the baking dishes.
- Fill the vegetables with the stuffing, and put the stuffed zucchini and peppers in one dish, the onions and celery in another.
- Sprinkle the tops of the vegetables with the remaining 1 cup grated cheese.
- Cover the baking dishes with foil, and bake until the vegetables release their juices and are almost tender, about 30 minutes.
- Uncover, and bake until vegetables are tender and the stuffing is browned and crispy, about 30 minutes more.
- (The peppers and zucchini may be done before the onions and celery; check them after 20 minutes.)
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
country bread, milk, zucchini, stalks celery, red bell peppers, sweet onions, scallions, cubes, fresh italian parsley, kosher salt, extravirgin olive oil
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/stuffed-vegetables-385338 (may not work)