Stuffed Eight Ball Zucchini

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Eight-Ball Zucchini? Have you ever heard of them or seen them before? I stumbled upon them while at a local farm stand looking for canning tomatoes and thought they were adorable. I knew I had to have them; I was experiencing some major FOMO (fear of missing out). What if these were a one-time shot never to be seen again!? Am I the only one that feels this way when stumbling upon something new at a market?

I did some research when I got home and found that the eight-ball is a hybrid of your typical zucchini. The outer skin is smooth, with a deep green color. 

There were no seeds inside of mine, but I imagine just like your average zucchini, the larger they grow the more likely you are to have seeds. All of the ones I purchased were close in size, somewhere between 3 and 4 inches. 

I planned to stuff them. Scooping out the inner flesh took a gentle hand, but the flesh was a beautiful ivory color with some small green hues and tasted similar to the longer zucchini, buttery and sweet.

When I’m working with something new or different, I like to stick with familiar flavors and techniques. Once I tasted the flesh, that I could tweak my Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe a little to compliment the texture and flavor.

I was so happy with the results and the last-minute decision to add the inner flesh that was scooped out back into the filling mixture! The extra zucchini that you scoop out would be perfectly mixed into meatloaf, meatball or just add to your next salad.

Zucchini, Stuffed Zucchini, Zucchini Eight Ball

Dinner

Yield: 6

Author: Teresa Fiocchi

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Stuffed Eight Ball Zucchini

If you love a stuffed pepper or mushroom, these are a must-try!

Ingredients

• ½ pound lean ground beef, chicken or turkey
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ¼ cup green peas (frozen works great)
• 12 Zucchini Eight Balls (depending on size)
• 1 1/2 cup prepared marinara sauce, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat (any of the above work perfectly in this recipe), rice, onions, Parmesan cheese, garlic, thyme, basil, oregano, peas and ½ cup of the marinara. Set aside. If using chicken or turkey refrigerate at this point until the Zucchini is prepared. If using beef, it is fine to leave at room temperature.
3. Wash zucchini balls. Slice approximately ¾ inch from the top. Saving the top piece. With a small spoon, carefully scoop out the insides leaving at least ¼ inch of the flesh intact.
4. Loosely stuff the zucchini with the filling; stand them in a baking dish. Top each with a spoonful of the marinara and extra Parmesan cheese.
5. Pour the remaining marinara sauce into the baking dish. There should be enough liquid to cover at least one inch of the zucchini. If needed add enough water so the combined liquids cover at least 1 inch of the zucchini balls.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the zucchini are tender and the filling is completely cooked, about an additional 20 minutes.
7. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Any of the meat options work perfectly in this recipe, to cut down on the fat, chicken or turkey is a great substitute. Use a good quality marinara, alternatively, you could substitute a tomato puree.

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