(That recipe name is a mouthful, isn't it? Try as I might, I couldn't make it any more concise without using a lot of hyphenation, and the result was less than euphonious.)
Have you ever misplaced a favourite recipe and tried to recreate it from memory? That's what happened here. I clipped this recipe (or a near approximation of it) out of a supermarket flier some years ago. Now that it's summer, and we're swimming in donated zucchini and blessedly cheap red peppers, I tried to hunt it up but without success. (It had disappeared into recipe limbo, which I think must be right next door to sock limbo. Isn't there some philosophical/scientific law which states that nothing ever disappears, it just changes form? If philosophers did more housework, they might re-think that postulate. But I digress.) So I set about re-inventing the wheel. Luckily the ingredients and steps were few.
Here's what I used to serve 2 people:
2 medium zucchini, about 7-8" long (it's even better with summer squash)
1 red bell pepper, roasted and diced
Feta cheese* - about 2 ounces
Freshly ground black pepper
Thyme - fresh is best, but dried will do in a pinch (herb pun!)
Olive oil - optional
*Next time I'll use fresh goat cheese. The supermarket feta I bought was just a tad rubbery. If you have a reliable brand of feta, go ahead and use that.
Wash zucchini and slice off the ends. Slice lengthwise, and steam for 5-7 minutes or until just beginning to be tender.
Drain and cool slightly. Heat oven to 400º.
While the zucchini is cooling, chop roasted pepper. Crumble enough feta cheese to equal the volume of chopped pepper. Dust liberally with freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of fresh thyme (if using dried, just half the amount will do).
Gently toss the pepper and cheese together to blend.
Scoop out a cavity the length of each zucchini half using a melon baller, spring-loaded scoop, or rounded spoon. (Save the scoopings for something else, or eat them if you like. Cook's privilege.)
Place the zucchini in a small shallow baking pan. Fill evenly with pepper-cheese mixture. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over, if desired (I don't think it makes much difference either way).
Bake for 15 minutes or until feta just starts to brown. Serve warm with whatever takes your fancy. (We had quinoa salad.) May be eaten with knife and fork, or if you're feeling casual and devil-may-care, with the fingers. Just keep it over the plate!
P.S. The original recipe called for slicing the zucchini crossways and hollowing out a little dip in each piece, to be filled with the pepper-cheese mixture and eaten as an appetizer. Too time-consuming for me.
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I dislike zucchini but adore roasted pepper with Feta. It's a very colourful dish isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI really like your scooping method of making a zucchini dish to hold goodies. This sounds and looks to good to be on a computer screen. Should be on a plate in front of me!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I was just asking the ladies at work yesterday if they had any good zucchini recipes as we have a plethora of zuchinni at the moment. Thank you so much. I am definitely making this one; it looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fantastic!! I love all of those ingredients!! We tend to let our zucchinis get a little big and I think this would be a great way to use those since they have the bigger seeds! Thank you!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious! I wish I could get my family to eat peppers. I bought some at the farmers market because they are so cheap right now, but I'm not sure what I am going to do with them. I was just going to slice them up and put them in my lunches, but maybe I'll try something a little more adventurous. Who cares if nobody else eats it? More for me! :)
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