Zucchini boats with chicken
I often stuff peppers, eggplants and tomatoes, but these were my first zucchini boats. I enjoyed them, though the men in my family preferred the eggplant version. That leaves this relatively light dish for the women in the family!
Finely chop the onion and bell pepper and fry until transparent in a small amount of vegetable oil. Just a tablespoon is enough. Let it cool a little.
Remove the breast fillet and cut into small cubes.
Combine the meat and fried vegetables in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, favorite spices and some herbs. That's it, the filling is ready. Set aside. While we are working on the zucchini, the meat will marinate.
Now let's move on to the zucchini. First of all, wash the zucchini thoroughly and peel off the skin. We also cut off the stalk. Cut each zucchini lengthwise into two halves.
I have small, young zucchini. The seed part of them is very tender. A dessert spoon was just right for removing it. First, draw the edge of a spoon around the perimeter.
Then we pry the seed part with a spoon and remove it.
You should get boats like these with smooth, neat walls.
Grate the garlic or pass it through a press. Add a teaspoon of salt. Grind the salt and garlic together. Pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil into them and mix.
We coat each boat with this mixture on all sides: both inside and outside. Immediately place in a baking dish. I do not grease the pan. Zucchini is already quite oily.
We fill the boats with the prepared minced meat.
To prevent the minced meat from drying out in the oven, place a couple of tomato slices on each boat. And put it in the oven for 30 minutes. The oven is preheated to 200°C.
Remove the pan with boats from the oven. Sprinkle with grated cheese and send back for another 10 minutes so that the cheese melts.
Aromatic rice goes very well with stuffed zucchini boats
and fresh vegetables.