by Dawn Smith-Pfeifer
School has started, the days are getting cooler and the nights are getting downright chilly. September 1 marks meteorological autumn, and what better way to celebrate this season of pumpkin spice and fall festivals than…..
Zucchini Week!
A couple weeks ago, we asked people to share their favorite zucchini recipes and the top recipes would get cool and useful prizes from On Your Table. Many people asked, “How are you going to judge these?” While I would love to tell you that I took every recipe into the OYT test kitchen and had a group of tasters rank them, that would be a lie. Truth be told, my husband hates zucchini. Won’t cook with it. Won’t even taste something if he knows there is zucchini in it. And don’t try to sneak it into a recipe either. It’s some childhood thing. I don’t ask questions.
Needless to say, my kitchen couldn’t be the test kitchen. So, how to choose a winner? Since zucchini are so abundant, the next most logical way HAD to be how much zucchini was used in the recipe and who had the best story to go with it.
Turns out we had two in that category. And since one is technically a condiment, the winner is not only a family favorite, but a recipe that is requested every year at a gathering.
We’ll share the winning recipe on Friday. But because we know you are dying to try new ways to use up that zucchini, each day this week, we’ll share a recipe that was submitted. Today’s recipe:
Tuna Melt Zucchini Boat
Ingredients:
1 large zucchini
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped red onion
1 can tuna in water, drained
Salt & pepper
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
½ cup mozzarella/Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Slice the zucchini down the middle and scoop out the seeds and middle part. Bake zucchini halves for approximately 8-10 minutes in a 400-degree oven.
Meanwhile, stir together the zucchini, celery, red onion, tuna, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Remove zucchini shells from oven, spoon mixture into zucchini halves and top with cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. The last minute or two, turn on the broiler to make the cheese nice and brown on top.
Enjoy!
This recipe was submitted by Valerie Gordon, NDFB Assistant Treasurer.