Sunday, August 15, 2010

Behind The Eight Balls

I should try to grow these. Every summer, I look forward to these little round zucchinis and only find them every now and then. There's something playful and funny about the shape - it's really the only difference between these and the long ones.

Normally, I cut off the tops, remove the innards, mix said innards with other tasty things and stuff them right back in. This time, a neighbor had given me a small summer squash and a tiny new zucchini, so I used those instead of the innards to make a stuffing.

Cut the top quarter off the eightball squashes and hollow out the body with a spoon, leaving about 1/2-1/4 inch thickness in the walls and bottom. Chop a small zucchini and a small summer squash (crookneck). Mince garlic a couple of cloves of garlic and about half a small onion, lightly sauté in olive oil with Italian herb seasoning warming in the same pan. Add the finely chopped squash cubes and cook for about five minutes, until the zucchini is even brighter green and the summer squash is still a sunny yellow. Off the heat, add a handful of grated ParmReg and stir it around to mix it in, then stuff the mixture into the hollowed eightball zucchinis. Top with the stem end caps. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour, basting once with butter or pan juices; I usually stick them in the oven with a chicken and they finish roasting at about the same time.

Of course, you can play around with the stuffing - next time, I'm going to add some Sartain's Menu sauce for fun. Italians would probably add tomato sauce or the tomatoes themselves. Some like to mix in bread crumbs or cubes. You might want to try different cheeses. Zucchinis are so bland that they lend themselves to embellishment and experimentation. Knock yourself out.

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6 Comments:

Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Those things just crack me up. They're begging to be stuffed.

Sunday, August 15, 2010  
Blogger Katie Zeller said...

I grew some last year - they are cute.... until I found one the size of a basketball that I somehow missed.... But we ate a lot of the little ones before that debacle. They do just cry out to be stuffed, don't they?

Monday, August 16, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Cookiecrumb, I get a smile whenever I see them, round and goofy.

KatieZ, I'll remember your sage advice if I grown some next year- get 'em while they are young!

Monday, August 16, 2010  
Blogger kudzu said...

In my Italian father-in-law's dialect, a squash of this type was called "ca-gootz" . Always loved that.

Monday, August 16, 2010  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Cagootz!
My word verification is mishidas.

Monday, August 16, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Kudzu, love the word - I hope I remember to use it in his memory.

Monday, August 16, 2010  

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