Zucchini Boats With Ground Beef - Mediterranean
This zucchini boats with ground beef is a Mediterranean recipe. Stuffed with a ground beef mixture that is seasoned with middle eastern spices, and smothered with an Italian tomato sauce. The flavors are outstanding and they marry together wonderfully.
Equipment
- Pastry brush
- Small spoon or small ice-cream scoop
- Vegetable/zucchini corer (if you are using Asian zucchini)
- Large skillet
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Large baking pan
- Measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Zucchini squash
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cups diced onions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can 14 OZ crushed tomatoes
- 1 can 14 OZ tomato puree
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
Asian Zucchini prep.
- After washing the zucchini, remove the tops using a sharp knife.
- Begin coring the zucchini by inserting the vegetable corer into the center where you have removed the stem while making sure to not poke through the bottom of the zucchini. You will now begin to gently rotate the corer and remove the center of the zucchini little by little until you have a hollow zucchini with about a ¼ inch rim. Repeat this process with the remaining zucchini.
European/English Zucchini prep.
- After washing the zucchini, remove the tops using a sharp knife.
- Slice the zucchinis halfway lengthwise to make a boat shape.
- Core the inside of the zucchini using a small spoon or an ice-cream scoop. Make sure to leave about a ¼ inch rim so that the zucchini does not fall apart after its baked.
Directions continued
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the insides and outsides of the zucchinis with olive oil. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Place them on a 9x11 glass baking dish (if you are using English zucchini, place the round side down, and cut side facing up) and bake for 10 – 20 minutes, or until slightly tender.
- Note: English zucchini tend to be softer than Asian zucchini when cooked, so you may want to cook it for a less amount of time depending on its size so that it will be able to hold up its shape when it gets cooked for the second time as you will see here.
- While the zucchinis are getting baked, prepare the stuffing . Place the ground beef, garlic, and onions into a large skillet on medium heat. Stir constantly to mix in the beef with the onions and garlic. This process will also prevent the beef from cooking into one solid chunk.
- After the ground beef has fully browned, place everything into a fine sieve and drain any excess fat. Place them back into the pan on low heat.
- Add 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp allspice, and a ¼ tsp black pepper. Stir until everything is well combined. Take it off the heat and set aside.
- After the zucchinis have been baked and have cooled slightly, Fill them with the stuffing that you have prepared. (If you are using Asian Zucchini, wait until they cool down enough to handle them. Hold the zucchinis in the palm of your hand with the opening facing up, gently fill with the stuffing about two-thirds of the way without compacting it, and place back into the pan on its side.)
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, 1 ½ cups water, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt or to taste, and 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Pour into the baking pan over the stuffed zucchinis. Make sure to not pour directly over the stuffing, otherwise, the stuffing would fall off the zucchini and mix in with the sauce. Give the pan a gentle shake to allow the sauce to seep into the bottom of the pan, and under the zucchinis.
- Place the pan back into the oven at 400 F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the zucchinis are tender, and the sauce is hot and bubbly.
- Allow it to cool slightly before serving. Serve over Middle Eastern Rice rice. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Don’t throw away the zucchini cores. You can save them in the fridge for a few days to use in zucchini breads, omelets, soups, bakes, and so on. Or, you can throw them to your chickens if you have any, or in your compost pile.