Try this Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Zucchini Boats recipe.
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 2 large zucchini
- 12 strips
- 1 sweet red pepper (finely chopped)
- 3 cloves (peeled and pressed)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dill
- 1 tbsp finely chopped italian parsley
- 8 mushrooms finely chopped
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 1 tsp kosher salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
- Carbohydrate 6.8525319877125 g
- Cholesterol 38.9805942625 mg
- Fat 12.4242958868 g
- Fiber 1.7765000385046 g
- Protein 4.0555583997875 g
- Saturated Fat 6.896242495565 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (201g)
- Sodium 129.90246143875 mg
- Sugar 5.0760319492079 g
- Trans Fat 1.81881396852625 g
- Calories 147 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 350F convection.
- Trim the ends off zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-inch thick shells.
- Chop the pulp very finely and place into a large bowl. Add the onion, garlic, pepper, herbs, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- Stuff each shell with an equal amount of stuffing. Wrap 3 strips of bacon around each zucchini boat such that the ends end up underneath.
- Line a large baking dish with foil or parchment paper, and fit with a cooling rack. Place the zucchini boats on top of the rack, tucking bacon strip ends underneath. This will help keeping the ends in place during baking. The bacon will shrink during baking and some of the ends will come out. This isn't a problem, they will only get crispier than other parts of the bacon.
- Bake on the middle rack at 350F convection for 30 minutes. Then turn the heat up to 375F convection and continue cooking for another 15 minutes, until the zucchini shells are soft and the bacon is nicely browned and crispy. Remember, everyone's oven bakes differently, so start checking at 35 minutes. If the bacon is dark and crispy, it's time to pull the boats out.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Smoked pork fat renders into tender summer squash while a rich cheese filling bakes inside a crisp exterior. Roasting whole vegetables wrapped in cured meats presents a specific moisture challenge. Zucchini contains vast amounts of water that release rapidly under heat. Unchecked moisture turns the surrounding meat soggy and prevents proper browning.
Controlling Moisture and Heat
Scooping out the interior pulp leaves a structural shell that requires careful management. Mincing that discarded pulp and folding it directly into the cream cheese and mushroom filling recycles flavor without wasting produce. Salting the vegetable shells before stuffing draws out excess surface liquid. Pat the cavities thoroughly with paper towels prior to adding the cheese mixture. Elevating the assembled boats on a wire cooling rack inside a lined baking sheet allows hot air to circulate freely beneath the meat. Baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 30 minutes cooks the squash thoroughly. Increasing the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for the final 15 minutes renders the remaining fat and crisps the bacon strips.
- If the bacon ends begin to unwrap during the initial baking phase, secure them with plain wooden toothpicks before moving the dish to the oven.
- Substitute regular-cut bacon with thin-cut varieties if thick slices refuse to render completely within the standard 45-minute total cooking window.
