This our first year to grow round yellow zucchini. They are a delicious tender vegetable that are perfect for stuffing. There are many recipes to use as stuffing. We enjoyed this one last night, especially with the red bell pepper sauce.

Stuffed Round Yellow Zucchini with Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 round zucchini ( 1 per person)
  • 1 cup couscous
  • 1 & 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup spicy or smoked tofu, cut in small cubes
  • 1 small onion sautéed
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
  • dash Tabasco or crushed red peppers
  • few fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • salt and pepper to taste

for the bell pepper sauce:

  • 1 large bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • water
  • 1 teaspoon agave (optional)
  • salt and pepper

Stuffed Round Yellow Zucchini with Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Directions:

to prepare the zucchini:

  1. Slice the top portion of the zucchini off. Reserve for later.
  2. Using a melon baller or spoon with a “sharp edge”, remove the inner flesh of the zucchini.
  3. Depending upon the flesh, if it is very seedy, then discard it; however if it is mostly zucchini flesh then you may want to add it to the filling mixture. If you wish to use the zucchini flesh, then chop it in small pieces.
  4. Chop the onion.
  5. Mince the garlic.
  6. Cube the spicy or smoked tofu pieces.
  7. Place the couscous in a small bowl.
  8. Add the 1 tablespoon of vegetable bouillon powder and pour the boiling water on top.
  9. Stir the mixture and place a plate on top, allowing the couscous to absorb the water and flavours for 10-15 minutes.
  10. In a small frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion, add the tofu pieces, garlic and zucchini pieces.
  11. Sauté the mixture until soft.
  12. Fluff the couscous mixture and add the sauteed mixture. A larger bowl may be needed to do this.
  13. Add the tomato paste and basil leaves.
  14. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
  15. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F / 190 C.
  16. Fill each zucchini ball with the prepared mixture.
  17. Place the filled zucchini in an oven-proof baking dish.
  18. Fill the dish about 1/3 with water. This is optional, however helps to steam the zucchini so they don’t dry out.
  19. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the zucchini are soft.
  20. While the zucchini are baking, make the bell pepper sauce.

to make the bell pepper sauce:

  1. Wash and cut the red bell pepper, removing the seeds, stem, inner ribs.
  2. Slice or chop the pepper into pieces.
  3. Heat a frying pan with the olive oil and sauté the pepper pieces until they are soft.
  4. Place the peppers in a blender and pure.
  5. You may want to add a bit of water to make the sauce a thinner sauce and easier to puree,
  6. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and optionally a small bit of agave to bring out the sweetness of the bell pepper.

to serve:

  1. Place a small amount of the bell pepper sauce on a plate and place the zucchini in the center.