We have been gone for a week visiting our family in Cary, NC. As much as I love our Farmer’s Markets in the mountains, nothing can compare to the Farmer’s Markets in Raleigh. My DIL Kristen and I spent a morning strolling the aisles there. There was everything from fresh bread from La Farm Bakery to these adorable eight ball zucchinis. There is no doubt about what to do with these cute little spheres. They are perfect for stuffing.
Kristen is very creative about coming up with ideas for recipes. Later in the day we visited her local butcher shop and came away with some chicken chipotle sausages.
We also had some Round of Hungary sweet red peppers that we picked up at the market. These peppers are sweet and also suited for stuffing, but in this case we used them as part of the stuffing for our zucchini.
I had already decided on making an orzo pasta dish (which I will blog about later), so our stuffing did not include rice or pasta. But it did include Manchego cheese, the sausage, peppers, zucchini, and a topping of fresh corn, panko crumbs and more cheese. It was as good as it gets.
STUFFED EIGHT BALL ZUCCHINI SQUASH
1 pound sausage of your choice
1 yellow sweet pepper,chopped
1 red sweet pepper, chopped
chopped flesh from hollowed out zucchini (about 1 cup)
1 cup shredded Manchego cheese
8 eight ball zucchini squash
Topping:
1 ear of sweet corn, cooked and kernels removed from cob
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/4 cup Manchego cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Hollow out eight ball zucchini squash with a melon baller reserving the flesh. There will be extra which can be saved for another purpose.
Saute sausage and peppers in a skillet until sausage is cooked. Drain off grease. Add 1 cup of reserved chopped zucchini and shredded Manchego cheese.
Stuff zucchini shells with the mixture. Place on baking sheet and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Mix topping ingredients together. Top each zucchini with some of the mixture and return it to the oven. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until topping is browned. Broil for a few minutes if topping is not browned.
How cute are those 8 ball zuchinni! I have never seen them before. The recipe sounds great Penny…
delicious… I am making these soon, but am wondering how i can use the tops (at the least as a garnish, since the star pattern makes a great visual!
And isn’t this the best week for haunting a farmer’s market (Sweet Corn here… $2 a dozen and just amazing! in a couple weeks, tomatoes big bags for a few bucks!!!)
I wish I’d been with you at that farmers’ market. Walks like those inspire me to be a better cook, as does this oh-so-tempting recipe. I have it on my list for this week. “As good as it gets” is just the right recommendation to jump start my creative cooking juices. You, too, inspire me to be a better, more creative cook. Thanks so much. Lyla
I’ve never seen these squashes. How cool. The farmer’s market sounds fantastic. Ours here has very little food, mostly jewelry and pottery.
Sam
I’ve never heard of Manchego cheese. Does it go by another name or is there something I could use as an alternative. This looks simply delicious!
XO,
Jane
I have also never seen these types of squashes! If I would have accidentally bought the wrong seeds and these turned up, I might have thrown them away. Ya learn something new everyday (still.) The recipe sounds like it would be delicious!
These look delicious Penny – I really like your choice of ingredients. I’ve grown a different round squash before and I think we stuffed every one of them for eating.
Blondie (Jane), Manchego cheese is a Spanish hard cheese and is available in most deli sections of the supermarket. It melts well. You could substitute a colby cheese or mild cheddar, but I like the buttery flavor that it imparts.
Hi Penny – I’ve seen these 8 ball zucchini at the market. They are the perfect shape for stuffing. Your sausage stuffing sounds delicious. I usually add rice to the stuffing mix but I like the idea of serving it as a side.
Nothing beats strolling in a market with someone you love.I have never heard or seen ball zucchini; gotta find some; thank you for that reply about the cheese; not sure i wold find Manchego around here.
Rita
Looks lovely, Penny. I’ve been experimenting with all kinds of peppers, in all kinds of ways. My zucchini I’ve been simmering in butter for a long time. The other day at the market there were these big clubs of zucchini and I laughed. The farmer said, ‘don’t laugh. the old Italian ladies come here and want them. They stuff them to feed an army. Yea! I love it that we still have people around who do that (even if they don’t grow them theirselves). Thanks for this. It looks delicious.
These little zucchinis are adorable and your stuffing looks so good! Sounds like you and your daughter-in-law had a lovely time together.