21 August 2017

Zucchini.... what else?

We grew them — there are still a lot of them coming — so we need to eat them. Zucchini. Courgettes. I was out in the back yard with the dog and a flashlight about an hour ago, shining the light on the vegetable garden, and I saw half a dozen little zukes poking out from under the plants' big leaves. I think I might go pick those while they're still small.



The other day I looked around the kitchen and I found some green lentils (French lentilles vertes). What if I cooked those with some riz rond (short grain rice) and aromatics to make a stuffing for squash or tomatoes? Then I remembered that I had a bag of frozen spinach (épinards en branches) in the freezer.



I put the lentils on to cook (they take less than half an hour) and some rice in a bowl to soak in cold water — about a cup and a half of each. Then I drained the rice and added it to the lentils about 15 minutes before they were scheduled to be done. I cooked the spinach separately in the microwave, chopped it up, and added it to the rice and lentils when their cooking liquid had all been absorbed.



I cooked the lentils and rice in turkey broth because I had simmered a turkey leg and thigh piece with the idea of pulling the meat off the bones, chopping it, and putting it in the stuffing. Lentils, rice, spinach, turkey — with aromatics like onions, garlic, herbs, and spices, at your discretion. One lemon squash sneaked in...


As you can see, I cut a large zuke into big round pieces. What you can't see is that I blanched the pieces in the steamer pot for 7 or 8 minutes — 4 or 5 pieces at a time. They were just starting to get tender when I took them out and hollowed them out. Don't worry about them not having bottoms. Fill them with the stuffing mixture and cook them in the oven for a while.



If you cook the stuffed squash on a pan lined with kitchen paper or a silicon baking pad, you can easily lift them with a spatula and serve them on plates without having them fall apart. Sprinkle a little grated cheese on top, along with a drizzle of olive oil. They would be good with a tomato sauce, which is how, later, we'll eat the ones that went into the freezer.

12 comments:

  1. L'art, non pas d'accomoder les restes, mais d'utiliser une abondanre récolte. Je m'en lèche les babines!

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  2. "Je m'en lèche les babines!" A new one to me. It always surprises me and makes me smile when an expression in one language/culture turns up very similar in another.

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    1. In French you can also say "ça me met l'eau à la bouche !"

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    2. Beyond languages, races and cultures, humans seem to think alike most often

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    3. Did you two, Suecee and CHM, read on Walt's blog that Natasha's collar turned up today? More tomorrow.

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    4. Glad to know the collar was found. That clip-fastener seems to have been a piece of junk!

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  3. I get such practical cooking ideas from you. Keep it up! (and thanks)

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  4. Everywhere I look there are some zucchini .. Farms here must have a bumper crop .. they are practically giving them away.
    So far I made a small ratatouille and roasted a bunch , last night I sauteed some in butter and will use some in pasta sauce.
    I have taken to cooking things ahead, when I feel like cooking and freezing it for when I don't feel like cooking :)

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  5. Hope nobody saw you with your flashlight! They would assume you are a courgette thief'

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    1. At 5 a.m. the few neighbors we have are in their houses with their shutters shut. I don't think they saw me. They might have eard Tasha barking though.

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