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I love zucchini and I love anything with zucchini. You have to try these stuffed zucchinis. They’re stuffed with sausage, olives, cheese and more cheese. You know with me there’s definitely cheese involved and we have mozzarella for gooeyness and then what I think makes this dish, a creamy and velvety cheese sauce. So delicious!
If you are left with any stuffing or cheese sauce, you can easily turn it into a pasta dish; it’s a win-win situation with two meal ideas.
STUFFED ZUCCHINI WITH SAUSAGE, OLIVES AND CHEESE SAUCE
Recipe by Mark Calaminici | Food Loves Company
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 zucchini, halved lengthwise and hollowed out
3-4 sweet or hot sausage, casing removed
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
½ small sweet onion, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Chili flakes, to taste
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ cup or 10g Castelvetrano olives, pitted and finely chopped
1 cup or 210g Passata, strained tomato puree
140g Mozzarella, coarsely grated
15g Fresh parsley, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp. Bomba Calabrese sauce (optional)
Cheese Sauce
1 cup or 190g Heavy cream (35%)
1 cup 200g Mascarpone cheese
45g Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated, more to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, then trim stem ends. Scoop out the center flesh to create shells. You can discard the seeds and with any remaining flesh, set aside as you can use it for the filling. Season the zucchini boats with salt and freshly cracked pepper.
3. In a pan on medium heat, add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally. You can break up the sausage into pieces with a wooden spoon. I like to brown up the sausage as they start to get crispy, so let the sausage sit a bit undisturbed to get a bit crispy and colour. You will see the pan may have some fond developing and that will get released when we cook the onions. Once sausage is cooked remove and set aside in a bowl.
4. In the same pan, add extra-virgin olive oil over low-medium heat. Add onions, zucchini flesh and season with salt, freshly cracked pepper and chili flakes to taste. Sauté until onions have softened and you have removed as much moisture as you can from the zucchini flesh. When the onions have softened a bit, add garlic, olives. Cook until the garlic is tender. Add passata, and sauté until the sauce has reduced by a little bit. Remove and place mixture in the bowl with the sausage.
5. In a small saucepot on medium heat, add cream, mascarpone and stir frequently until the mascarpone has melted. Add Parmigiano-Reggiano and season with salt, freshly cracked pepper and nutmeg. Continue to whisk ingredients to create a thick and creamy sauce, adding more Parmigiano-Reggiano to thicken, if needed.
6. Add a couple spoonfuls’s of the cream sauce to the sausage mixture and reserve the rest for drizzling on afterwards. Add half of the mozzarella and parsley, the rest will be used for topping and garnish. Add bomba sauce and mix everything until well incorporated. Fill the zucchini shells with the sausage mixture and top with remaining mozzarella.
7. Add the stuffed zucchinis to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees until the filling has set and cheese is fully melted. Drizzle with as much cheese sauce as you and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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