SOS Zucchini Boats to the Rescue
I hope everyone has read Westcoast‘s fantastic okra-starring dish, Bhindi Masala with Whole Wheat Dill and Garlic Parathas. And I’m sorry you all could only *read* about it. The day after he made it we met for lunch. He brought his Indian okra leftovers and I brought my Kefir Parsley Pesto with Zucchini, Peas and Udon Noodles leftovers.
He totally fucking won. Especially because the udon noodles sucked up all of the moisture from the veggies and the sauce and, well, it was really bland compared to his spice-heavy mixture.
As we were packing up lunch, he flippantly said he’d be tossing what we hadn’t finished. I clearly was having none of that! I took home some of the masala, one of the parathas and the dill-ed yogurt mixture. But there wasn’t enough for a full meal, which to me is a perfect excuse for some kitchen creativity.
Luckily, it was Monday and I caught Kim O’Donnel’s Meatless Monday post on her new blog, Licking Your Chops, on the site True/Slant. Okay, enough with the plugging for the great KOD.
Notorious KOD’s Zucchini Boats
Anyway, her post happened to be freaking perfect for what little food I had. She sliced a zucchini in half, scooped out the seeds, and then combined a whole bunch of veggies and other around-the-pantry shit, spooned the filling in the zucchini halves and stuck it in the oven to heat up.
I used the same method, but with a filling variation. Noting 80’s total aversion to raw tomatoes, I chopped up a bunch of mini tomatoes (sun golds?), let them cook down with just salt and pepper, then added in the zucchini pulp, almost half a can of black beans, a handful of arugula and my leftover, homemade garam masala. And of course, the leftovers of Westcoat’s okra dish. I then stuffed that into the zukes and shoved it in the oven for about 10 minutes. This was served with the paratha and his dill-ed yogurt mixture.
And in case you’re wondering what I ate:
Sun golds, roasted garlic, arugula, black beans and feta, heated through in a litte bit of oil. Served with an almost stale baguette.
You certainly win the presentation and ability to eat down your fridge rounds! The zucchini looks amazing!
yeah, stuffed zucchini is one of my favorite quick meals!! I usually just toss the zucchini innards with some garlic, oil and bread crumbs and put some cheese on top. When the cheese is melted and the zuc is soft, it’s done and delicious and perfect when you get home at 8PM and haven’t eaten dinner yet. But I will now perhaps start stuffing other things in the zucchini, though I don’t know in that case what to do with the leftover zucchini innards…
@alex – i actually used the zucchini pulp in this mixture too. and i forgot to mention that i threw in parsley for both of these meals.
Zucchini Boats as you prepare look spectacular and delicious. Your post is timed beautifully with our purchase of zucchinis…we will try your recipe. Thanks again for sharing such good ideas.