Inspired by travels throughout italy
While traveling in Italy, the first night of arriving I was with a few friends and came across this small hole in the wall type of restaurant. We decided to order this zucchini dish, that was so flavorful! All of us were so impressed, because it was such a simple dish including, zucchini, ground meat, rice and a tiny bit of Parmesan. Crispy yet tender in the middle, we were all intrigued by such a flavorful spice and savory mix. Ironically enough, 10 years later, I was still totally intrigued to try and recreate this simple, yet tasty dish.
Zucchini or "Courgette" (in British English) is a summer squash that is of Mesoamerican origin, and is a thin skinned cultivar which people from Britain and Ireland also strangely refer to as marrow. Zucchini was developed in northern Italy in the 19th century before being introduce in the Americas in the early 16th century. Another fun fact is that zucchini wasn't introduced to the United States until the early 1920's, which most likely came from Italian immigrants.
Regardless of the history behind Zucchini's origin, it can be a great, low calorie dish that provides many health benefits, including Vitamin C and A, potassium, folate and fiber. This all contributes to a healthy heart, reduced blood pressure and lowering cholesterol. While, you gain more nutrients eating it raw, I prefer the baked flavor of zucchini!
Take a minute to review the video, which gives step by step instructions on how to cook this easy dish.
Spicy Savory dish inspired from travels in Florence
Tasty low calorie dish, with positive health benefits. Win-win*
Ingredients:
>1 pound of ground turkey
>2 yellow squash (diced fine)
>1/2 yellow onion (diced fine)
> 4 Zucchini (Ends cut off, then sliced in half. Middle of Zucchini hollowed out)
>1 Teaspoon of minced garlic
>Gound Salt and Pepper as needed
> 1/4 cup of chicken broth
> 3 table spoons of Cholula hot sauce
> 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
> GOYA Yellow Rice (2 cups of water/ 1 tablespoon of butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
> 6-8 Cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
> 1-2 teaspoons of Garlic based Olive Oil from #saratogaoliveoilco or Similar base
(Alternate substitute: EVOO)
>Add shredded Parmesan and pesto on top for topping
General directions:
1) Prep rice first, bring 2 cups of water to a bowl, and add GOYA yellow rice, with a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Lower temperature to med-low and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2) Set oven to 375 degrees. Cut Zucchini ends off and then slice in half. Take each half and carefully cut a triangle shape to slowly hollow out the middle. Place Zucchini on a baking sheet and drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of garlic olive oil or extra virgin olive oil on top and sprinkler salt and pepper on top. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
3) While the rice and Zucchini are cooking, dice up yellow squash, onion, and cherry tomatoes and add to the pan to simmer. Flip vegetables over and add minced garlic, along with salt and pepper.
4) Add ground turkey to the pan and start to brown on both sides in the mixture. Add additional salt and pepper as needed. Once mostly brown on both sides, add in chicken broth and simmer all together. Add/ coat with pepper and add cayenne pepper, and drizzle Cholula sauce on top. Cook about 5-6 minutes or until most of the broth has mostly evaporated.
5) Meanwhile once, the rice is done and set to the side, add in the vegetable/turkey mixture into the rice. Take out the Zucchini boats from the oven and start to add the delicious mixture on top of the Zucchini.
6) Sprinkle Parmesan on top with a small amount of pesto. If you like a little more spice, add more cholula sauce on top. Add to the oven and cook for 6 minutes at 375 degrees.
7) Remove the Zucchini Boats from the oven and place on your favorite plate. Garnish with more spice as desired #voila #EasyStuffedZucchiniBoats are ready to enjoy!
Provided to you by #cookingwkara
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