Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (160 page)

3)
Stuffing and baking the zucchini—25 to 30 minutes at 400 degrees

A heavily buttered rectangular or oval baking and serving dish just large enough to hold the 6 zucchini halves in 1 layer

3 Tb each of the remaining bread crumbs and cheese, mixed in a small bowl

3 Tb melted butter

Arrange the zucchini halves skin side down in the baking dish and fill with the stuffing, heaping it into a dome on each half. Sprinkle each with the cheese and bread crumbs, and dribble on the melted butter.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be prepared to this point a day in advance of baking; cover and refrigerate.

Bake in upper third of preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling hot and browned on top. (Do not overcook, letting zucchini shells become too soft for serving.) Serve from baking dish, or arrange around meat platter.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be kept warm, but again, do not let zucchini shells soften.

VARIATIONS

Courgettes Farcies au Riz et aux Poivrons

[Zucchini Stuffed with Rice and Peppers]

Another stuffing for zucchini, this one is equally good cold or hot. Prepare, stuff, and bake the zucchini exactly as described in the preceding recipe, but make the stuffing as follows.

Rice and pepper stuffing with tomato topping—2 cups for six 8- by 2-inch zucchini halves

½ cup diced onions

4 Tb olive oil (save 2 Tb for later)

½ cup diced green peppers

1 large clove mashed garlic

The chopped zucchini cores

⅓ cup plain, raw, white, untreated, long-grain rice

1 egg

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese (save 3 Tb for later)

3 Tb fresh minced parsley

Salt and pepper

3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped

Stir the onions into the oil in a medium-sized (10-inch) frying pan, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes until tender. Uncover, raise heat and brown very lightly, stirring, then add the green peppers, garlic, and zucchini cores. Cover and cook slowly for several minutes more until peppers are tender. Turn into mixing bowl. Meanwhile, in a pan of boiling salted water, boil the rice for exactly 10 minutes, drain, and add to mixing bowl. Beat in the egg, then the cheese and parsley. Season carefully with salt and pepper. Mound the stuffing in the blanched and hollowed-out zucchini halves. Season tomato pulp with salt and pepper, spread over the stuffing, cover with the remaining cheese, and sprinkle on the remaining olive oil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in upper third of preheated 425-degree oven until bubbling hot and cheese topping has browned lightly.

Other stuffings

You may stuff zucchini, following the general method outlined in the Master Recipe, with all kinds of mixtures, including other vegetables, leftover meat combinations, sausage mixtures, and so forth. See the complete
list
of possibilities.

STUFFED ONIONS—STUFFED CABBAGE

Oignons Farcis—Choux Farcis

OIGNONS FARCIS AU RIZ

[Onions Stuffed with Rice, Cheese, and Herbs]

Onions hollowed out and stuffed with rice and chopped, cooked onion cores need only a little cheese, cream, and a pinch of herbs to point up their flavor. Served hot, they add great distinction to a platter of broiled chicken or fish, and are always attractive with roasts, steaks, and chops. Serve them cold with cold meats or fish, or as part of an hors d’oeuvre display. The following recipe is for giant onions, but smaller ones are done the same way: whatever their size, you hollow them out raw, blanch them until barely tender, then stuff and bake them. If you do not blanch them first, they will take hours to cook and might well burst out of shape in the process. (See the
list
of other stuffing possibilities.)

For 6 large onions

1)
Coring and blanching the onions

6 very large, firm, fresh, perfect onions at least 3½ inches in diameter if possible, yellow or white

A small, sharp knife and a grapefruit knife

A large kettle of boiling salted water

A slotted spoon and a colander

One at a time, shave off pointed end and root end of onions
and peel off skin along with one outside layer of flesh. The whole onions are now to be hollowed out to form onion cups.