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Stuffed Zucchini Baked In Tomato Sauce
(Zucchini Ripieni)
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| What You Need: |
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1½ cups tomato sauce
4 medium-sized zucchini, scrubbed but not peeled
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup finely chopped onions
½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic
½ pound ground beef chuck
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 ounces finely chopped prosciutto (about ¼ cup)
½ cup fresh white bread crumbs (from French or Italian bread)
6 tablespoons freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Prepare the tomato sauce.Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and spoon outmost of the pulp, leaving hollow boat like shells about ¼ inch thick.Set the shells aside and chop the pulp coarsely.
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2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy 8- to 10-inch skillet, add the onions and cook them over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are soft and lightly colored.
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3. Add the zucchini pulp and the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes longer, stirring frequently. With a rubber spatula scrape the entire contents of the skillet into a large sieve set over a mixing bowl and let them drain.
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4. Meanwhile heat a tablespoon of oil in the skillet, add the ground beef and brown it over moderate heat, stirring almost constantly with a large fork to break up any lumps. Scrape the beef into another sieve set over a bowl and let it drain.
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5. Now in a large mixing bowl combine the drained vegetables and meat. Beat into them the lightly beaten egg, prosciutto, bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons of grated cheese, oregano, salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. Spoon this stuffing into the hollowed zucchini shells, mounding the top slightly.
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6. To bake the zucchini, use a 12-by-16-inch shallow baking dish into which 1½ cups of tomato sauce have been poured. Then carefully arrange the stuffed zucchini on the sauce.
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7. Sprinkle their tops with ¼ cup of cheese, dribble a few drops of olive oil over them and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
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8. Bring the sauce to a simmer on top of the stove, then transfer the dish to the middle of the oven and bake the zucchini for 30 minutes, removing the foil after 20 minutes so that the tops of the zucchini can
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