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Zucchini Boats with Sausage
Nov. 15th, 2012 09:13 amIngredients:
Boats:
4 medium-sized zucchinis
Boiling salted water
Filling:
15 ounce container ricotta cheese
1 ounce (by weight) grated parmesan
1 ounce (by weight) grated romano
4 ounces (by weight) grated mozzarella cheese (about one cup). Plus another 1/2 cup or so for assembling the casserole.
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsely
Sauce:
1 package of your favorite sausage (I used Al Fresco chicken sausage with roasted red pepper and asiago cheese.) If you want to make this vegetarian, the sausage is optional.
1 24 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut up sausage into small pieces, sautee over medium heat until cooked, add pasta sauce and some water (a half cup of water in the pasta sauce jar, shake, and pour into the sauce), stir and reduce heat to low.
Start a large pot of salted water to boil. Wash and remove ends of zucchinis. Slice in half the long way. Using a melon baller, scoop out the seeded flesh, leaving a "boat" that is at least 1/4 inch thick. Boil the zucchini boats for about one minute.
Mix the ingredients for the filling together in a large bowl.
Using a sheet cake pan or similarly sized baking dish, spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan to completely cover it with a thin layer of sauce. Using your hands, fill the blanched zucchini boats with the filling, patting it in firmly. The filling should be slightly rounded on top, but you don't want it overflowing the sides or ends. I had a little bit of filling left over, so I just pressed it into a ball and baked it along with the boats. Place each filled boat into your baking dish.
Pour the rest of the sauce over and around the boats. Sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese. You can toss some grated parmesan and/or romano on top as well, if you like.
Cover with foil (I spray my piece of foil with canola oil/Pam so it doesn't stick to the top cheesy layer) and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.
Makes 8 boats. One boat could be a single serving if you have other side dishes, but I had one and a half boats, and Eli & Alicia each had 2 boats (I think).
Per boat: 251 calories/16 grams of carbs/13 grams of fat/22 grams of protein/3 grams of fiber
So it's not a VERY low carb entree, but it's way better than lasagna, and has a similar taste and feel. The zucchini was still firm but not crunchy, and it was oh so yummy.
Notes:
When the zucchinis are larger, three will suffice.
I add a tablespoon of pesto to the sauce to bump up the flavor.
Broil the casserole for a minute or two at the end to get some crispy brown bits on top.
I add water to the sauce because we don't like this dish to be very dry. If you prefer a dryer casserole, you can omit it.
KEEWERD
Boats:
4 medium-sized zucchinis
Boiling salted water
Filling:
15 ounce container ricotta cheese
1 ounce (by weight) grated parmesan
1 ounce (by weight) grated romano
4 ounces (by weight) grated mozzarella cheese (about one cup). Plus another 1/2 cup or so for assembling the casserole.
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsely
Sauce:
1 package of your favorite sausage (I used Al Fresco chicken sausage with roasted red pepper and asiago cheese.) If you want to make this vegetarian, the sausage is optional.
1 24 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut up sausage into small pieces, sautee over medium heat until cooked, add pasta sauce and some water (a half cup of water in the pasta sauce jar, shake, and pour into the sauce), stir and reduce heat to low.
Start a large pot of salted water to boil. Wash and remove ends of zucchinis. Slice in half the long way. Using a melon baller, scoop out the seeded flesh, leaving a "boat" that is at least 1/4 inch thick. Boil the zucchini boats for about one minute.
Mix the ingredients for the filling together in a large bowl.
Using a sheet cake pan or similarly sized baking dish, spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan to completely cover it with a thin layer of sauce. Using your hands, fill the blanched zucchini boats with the filling, patting it in firmly. The filling should be slightly rounded on top, but you don't want it overflowing the sides or ends. I had a little bit of filling left over, so I just pressed it into a ball and baked it along with the boats. Place each filled boat into your baking dish.
Pour the rest of the sauce over and around the boats. Sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese. You can toss some grated parmesan and/or romano on top as well, if you like.
Cover with foil (I spray my piece of foil with canola oil/Pam so it doesn't stick to the top cheesy layer) and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.
Makes 8 boats. One boat could be a single serving if you have other side dishes, but I had one and a half boats, and Eli & Alicia each had 2 boats (I think).
Per boat: 251 calories/16 grams of carbs/13 grams of fat/22 grams of protein/3 grams of fiber
So it's not a VERY low carb entree, but it's way better than lasagna, and has a similar taste and feel. The zucchini was still firm but not crunchy, and it was oh so yummy.
Notes:
When the zucchinis are larger, three will suffice.
I add a tablespoon of pesto to the sauce to bump up the flavor.
Broil the casserole for a minute or two at the end to get some crispy brown bits on top.
I add water to the sauce because we don't like this dish to be very dry. If you prefer a dryer casserole, you can omit it.
KEEWERD
