Zucchini ripiene

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 people, you will need:

• 1 600 g courgette
• 2 30 g olive oil
• 3 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 250 g ricotta
• 5 10 leaves Basil
• 6 ½ lemon
• 7 50 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano)
• 8 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 9 salt
• 10 pepper
• Total weight: 1,095 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
35 min.	35 min.	1 hour 6 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Prepare 600 g courgette, cut lengthwise into 2. I'm using small, firm zucchinis here, but you can also use larger ones.
2	Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F). Hollow out the inside of the zucchini to remove the pulp (don't throw it away). You can use a small spoon or, ideally, an apple scoop.
3	To make cooking easier, cut a slice of zucchini from the underside with a vegetable peeler or knife. The dish you're about to form will allow the zucchini to lie flat. Add the green cut piece to the zucchini pulp from the previous step.
4	Lay a sheet of baking paper on a baking sheet, and place the zucchinis on top. Oil the inside of the zucchinis with a brush dipped in olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.
5	Bake at 200°C (390°F) for 20 minutes.
6	Meanwhile, chop the zucchini pulp.
7	In a small frying pan over medium heat, pour in 3 tablespoons olive oil and, when hot, the chopped zucchini pulp.
8	Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5-6 minutes until tender, checking the seasoning.
9	In a large bowl, pour 250 g ricotta, chopped basil, zucchini pulp, juice and zest of ½ lemon, grated 50 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
10	Mix it all together...
11	...and place in a piping bag if possible.
12	After 20 minutes, take the zucchinis out of the oven, do not turn it off, but put it on the "grill" setting.
13	Garnish the zucchini generously with the mixture.
14	Sprinkle with a little more breadcrumbs, then with Parmesan.
15	Return to the oven for another 5 minutes of grilling.
16	Serve hot, with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Remarks

For a tastier version, you can replace the ricotta with feta or goat's cheese.
If you don't have a piping bag for step 13, use a freezer bag with one of the bottom corners cut off, or a small spoon (but it's not as easy).

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