Simply Stuffed
November 23, 2009 at 10:08 am | In Baking / Cooking, Food | 30 CommentsQuick, batten down the hatches, the relatives are coming! Swarming in from all corners of the country, they’ll begin their descent any day now, preying upon well-meaning hosts and hostesses, depositing themselves on couches and easy chairs, leaving all manner of clothing and garbage strewn about; it may seem like a tornado hit the house, not just sweet auntie and uncle, plus their rambunctious kids of course. We don’t have much time to chat, because the attack could come at any time, so just lay low for as long as possible and follow my advice: Have food. Lots and lots of food.
As long as you keep feeding them, they shouldn’t become too destructive or agitated, and they may even stay out of the kitchen long enough for you to prepare The Festive Meal. Finger food is best, as silverware may get lost in the struggle, and of course, quick and easy is the name of the game here. That’s why I’m recommending these stuffed zucchini.
Although an unlikely choice, these simple veggie rounds are surprisingly satisfying, filled with a hearty mixture of nuts and beans, plus aromatic herbs and spices. They could just as happily make themselves at home on a dinner plate, as a side or even an entree, thanks to their protein-rich stuffing. Best of all, they’re delicious both warm and cold, and can be prepared in advance, so you can focus on more important things when the family is around. Like preventing little cousin Billy from destroying your antique glass vase.
Good luck, solider. Arm yourself well!
Stuffed Zucchini Bites
4 Medium Zucchinis
5 Tablespoon Olive Oil, Divided
1/2 Large Red Onion, Finely Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
Pinch Dried Thyme
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts, Toasted
2/3 Cup Cooked Canellini Beans
1/2 Cup Almond Meal
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and line two baking sheets with aluminum foil, parchment paper, or silpats.
Slice off the tops and bottoms of your zucchinis, and then cut them into 1 1/2-inch long segments. Stand each segment up on one of the cut sides, and use a melon baller to remove the center flesh, being careful not to dig all the way through the bottom. Reserve the flesh of two zucchinis for this recipe; the other two can go into a stir fry or something else. Arrange the hollowed-out zucchini pieces on your prepared sheets so that they’re ready to go. Set aside.
Set a medium sauté pan over moderate heat, and add in 1 tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, introduce the chopped onion to the pan, and reduce the heat slightly so that it softens and becomes translucent, but doesn’t brown. After about 4 minutes, add in the garlic, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. After another 5 – 6 minutes, incorporate the parsley, cumin, and thyme, plus the reserved flesh of two zucchinis, and cook for just 3 – 4 more minutes until the zucchini pieces are lightly browned. Remove the pan from the heat.
Transfer the contents of the sauté pan into your food processor or blender, along with the remaining oil, walnuts, beans, almond meal, and soy sauce. Pulse until the mixture is mostly blended, but still slightly chunky, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Give the stuffing a taste, and add salt and pepper as you see fit.
Spoon the stuffing into your prepared zucchini segments, and really mound it up on top; You should have plenty of stuffing, so don’t hold back. If it turns out that you still have extra when it’s all said and done, you can also just serve it along side chips as a dip, or use it later as a sandwich spread.
Give the zucchinis a light spritz all over with olive oil cooking spray, and bake for 20 – 30 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and the zucchinis are fork-tender.
Serves 8 – 10 as appetizers, 4 – 5 as a side dish, and perhaps 1 – 2 as a main.
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These stuffed zucchini bites look fantastic! I’m not the biggest fan of mushrooms, so stuffing zucchini boats instead of the typical fungi sounds great to me. It’s also a lovely presentation .
Comment by Lauren — November 23, 2009 #
Adorable post, adorable food! Your guests are very lucky!
Comment by The Ordinary Vegetarian — November 23, 2009 #
How beautiful!
Comment by mihl — November 23, 2009 #
LOL! batten down the hatches!!! love it, so true though.
Comment by dawn — November 23, 2009 #
Yum! Zucchini is a fave of mine. It always makes me sad how much mushrooms shrink when making stuffed mushrooms, so this is a fantastic alternative!
Comment by Michelle — November 23, 2009 #
Wow, those look beautiful! :-)
Comment by chow vegan — November 23, 2009 #
Those look delicious! I’ll be sure to drop by your place this holiday season. ;)
Comment by Vegyogini — November 23, 2009 #
They look fantastic. How funny and how true!
Comment by Joanne — November 23, 2009 #
Great recipe! I am going to make these for a friend’s event this week, I’ve been looking for tasty vegan finger food ideas to feed to omnis!
Comment by Mandee — November 23, 2009 #
I can never come up with good vegan finger foods. Those sound perfect!
Comment by Kiersten — November 23, 2009 #
I love the idea of stuffed appetizer zucchini’s. Would be great for the end of summer party also.
Comment by JoLynn-dreaminitvegan — November 23, 2009 #
Oh! Your stuffed zucchini look yummie, like the stuffing with walnut :-)
Comment by Juliana — November 23, 2009 #
Gorgeous! I always enjoy the attention to detail in your photographs. Do you have a whole closet of different dishes?
I also like the sound of that filling. At first I thought it was TVP, but the almond meal and beans sound like a yummy mix.
Comment by Kelly — November 23, 2009 #
Those look soooo good. I wish i could take photos like yours. wow.
Comment by Vic — November 23, 2009 #
What an elegant looking and I am sure great tasting little bite. I enjoyed this post – you made me laugh. I will be armed now thanks to you:-)
Comment by Wizzy — November 23, 2009 #
Cute!!
Comment by EcoMama — November 23, 2009 #
these look so so awesome!
beautiful and deliciou!
Comment by Devan G Newman — November 23, 2009 #
these are so beautiful. they remind me of the apple pies we make at work before you put the top crust on, because we pile the apples pretty high! seems like a great recipe, and hopefully a relative-pleaser.
Comment by Sophie — November 23, 2009 #
I love stuffed veggies and the sound of your this filling is delicious. I bet your visitors loved them.
Rose
Comment by Roses R Red — November 24, 2009 #
So cute! I love zucchini, I definitely did not have enough of it this summer.
Comment by Gina — November 24, 2009 #
Delish! I think these might have to end up on my Thanksgiving table! Maybe with stuffed squash too — I can imagine how pretty the two would look side by side!
Comment by eatavegan — November 24, 2009 #
i make almost exactly the same thing – but like crudites with a topping. i have never tried to stuff mini zucchinis… sounds amazing.
Comment by miss v — November 24, 2009 #
I was recently served zucchini stuffed this way (as opposed to lengthwise “boats”) and thought, gee I really must play around and recreate this! Thanks for doing it first :) I look forward to trying these out.
Comment by Ricki — November 24, 2009 #
Cute cute!
Comment by vegbooks — November 24, 2009 #
They look delicious Hannah and I can see how they would keep everyone occupied for a while! Good luck with all the festivities!
Comment by junglefrog — November 25, 2009 #
How cute are those?!
Comment by Melisser — November 26, 2009 #
Drool!
Comment by Oiyi — November 27, 2009 #
You know…I’ve never had stuffed zucchini! I only started eating zuc’s a year or two ago because I thought I didn’t like them. I bet these are delicious!
Comment by Jessica — December 1, 2009 #
I made these and they are delicious! The flavour is amazing and I’ll be making them again for Christmas lunch.
Comment by Mandee — December 5, 2009 #
Ooo these are so cute!
Comment by Ashley — December 7, 2009 #