Stuffed Zucchini

 

When I was originally searching for a zucchini recipe, I encountered a beautiful Caponata-Stuffed Zucchini recipe from Bon Appetit, one of my favorite recipe sources. The ingredients sounded delicious: eggplant, onion, red peppers, garlic ... and anchovies? I'm not an anchovy lover, but I did like the basis of the recipe so I decided to adapt it to a vegetarian-style stuffed zucchini. I was pleasantly surprised — the sprinkled Italian breadcrumbs amongst the eggplant mixture was the perfect dose of "crunch" the recipe needed.

4 zucchini, halved lengthwise
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 eggplant, chopped 
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
Salt
Black pepper

Grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Hollow out your zucchini and save the pulp, then roast the zucchini for 12-15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pepper, cooking until softened, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant with another tablespoon of olive oil and cook mixture until eggplant is tender, approximately 10 minutes. Be sure to add an extra tablespoon of olive oil if the eggplant starts becoming too dry before completely tender. Stir in garlic, cook for another 2 minutes, and remove from heat. Stir the reserved zucchini pulp (chopped), chives, lemon juice, and breadcrumbs. Scoop filling into zucchini shells, drizzle evenly with 2 teaspoons oil, and roast for 15 minutes more or until golden. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.