| Here we are with another “classical” recipe.Personally, it was like a nightmare for me during some years… this is why my father-in-law used to plant zucchini (among other things) and used to bring me full baskets of zucchini and eggplant. As I grew up learning that we should not give away food, what did I do? I cooked them all. When I had quite finished and the basket was empty, guess what? He arrived with another one!During those years I always had eggplant parmigiana and stuffed zucchini inside my freezer! So, to make it stuffed, you will need big zucchini. I really don’t believe they can be found everywhere. Do you know why? Because you are going to cut the big zucchini in 4 or 5 pieces about 5cm high and will have to empty its inside. Do you understand now because you need big zucchini? But… if you can’t find them, I’ll explain how to taste stuffed zucchini using small ones. In this case, instead of cutting with a cylinder-shape, just divide it in two in the long way.
Ingredients (4 people):
• 3 or 4 big zucchini or 8 “normal sized” zucchini
• 2 eggs
• 50gr (maybe a little bt more if you like it) of
grated Grana Padano
• 150gr of grated bread (bread crumbs)
• 3 soup spoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Oil to fry (I use extra virgin olive oil because it’s tasty and healthier, but it’s up to you)
• 1/2 minced onion
• 1 piece of minced garlic
• Minced parsley
•
Italian tomato sauce
• Salt
• pepper
How to do it:
Pell up the zucchini and cut it in cylinders or along, depending on its size.
If you are using big zucchini, cut 5 “tops” from one of the extremes. It will really serve as a top, when you fill up the cylinder, avoiding the stuff to go out of its vessel. Got it?
Empty them, putting aside the internal part. Then fry the external cylinders, the “taps” or halfs and put on absorbent paper after frying.
Then take another pan and add the extra virgin olive oil, the minced onion, minced garlic, parsley and let them colour for a while. Add then the internal part of the zucchini that in the meanwhile you had cut into smaller pieces. Add salt and pepper.
Let it cook until it gets soft and well mixed with the rest. It’s time to add the two eggs that you have beaten before, mix it well immediately to avoid pieces, add the grated
Grana Padano cheese
and add the bread crumbs until it becomes a little less liquid (you may be able to take it with a small spoon to fill the external parts).
Take an oven pan and spread some Italian tomato sauce to cover it all. Then place the cylinders of zucchini, and carefully “close” each one at its bottom with a “top”. Or just put the half fried zucchini, always depending on which you have used.
Fill them up with the stuffed zucchini and cover all together with
Italian tomato sauce
. Put it into the oven at 180/200°C for about 40 minutes, or when you see that it is a little bit coloured. Buy some good bread to accompany your stuffed zucchini.Buon appetito! Enjoy! | 
