This time we bring you a delicious Chilean recipe: stuffed Italian squash! This dish is an excellent alternative to enjoy a healthy, balanced and light lunch. It is made with a specific variety of zucchini, but you can prepare it with the one you find in the market.
It is very traditional in Chilean homes and families, as pumpkins are a national crop known for their high nutritional content and for their versatility in the kitchen during all seasons of the year. If you want to take advantage of all its flavor and benefits, keep reading and discover how to make stuffed Italian squash!
Ingredients to make stuffed Italian squash:
- 3 pumpkins
- 1 onion
- 2 assorted peppers (green, red and/or yellow)
- 250 grams of ground beef
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 1 pinch of cumin
- 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 2 eggs
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
How to make Stuffed Italian Squash:
To start, wash the pumpkins very well, cut the ends and cut them in half. Very carefully, remove the filling from each one, leaving the edges not very thin so that they are held on the oven tray. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
Wash the onion and peppers and cut them into medium cubes. Sauté all the vegetables with the pulp that you removed from the pumpkins. Add salt, pepper, and cumin for flavor.
When the onion is transparent, add the ground meat and fry for a few minutes until the meat is dark.
Tip: You can give extra flavor to the meat by adding bay leaves.
Mix the egg, bread and milk in a separate bowl. Also add salt and pepper. Once the vegetable sauce is ready, pour it into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix very well.
Fill the zucchini with the mixture and take them to the oven at 180ºC for 30 minutes or until they are soft.
Trick: If you have an electric oven you can gratin them for about 10 minutes with the grated cheese.
When you remove the stuffed zucchini from the oven, let them sit for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking, and serve while they’re still warm.
