Mario Matassa has created a wonderful take on zucchine ripiene – a truly delicious partnership of courgettes and parmesan!
Serves 4
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes
Ingredients:
• 4 medium courgettes
• 200g fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 medium free-range eggs
• 60g cooked ham in one thick slice
• 80g freshly grated parmesan
• freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Instructions:
1 Begin by washing and slicing the courgettes in half lengthways. Using a teaspoon or melon baler, scoop out a little of the flesh from the centre of the courgettes and then set them aside.
2 To make the stuffing, place the breadcrumbs, (which you should make yourself by placing pieces of one day old bread in a food processor and whizzing until very finely chopped), eggs, cooked ham chopped into small dice, parmesan, pepper and nutmeg in a large bowl. Mix everything together with your hands. If it feels a bit dry add another egg; if it feels too wet add a few more breadcrumbs.
3 Use this mixture to stuff the courgettes. Again, it’s easier to do this using your hands rather than a spoon, although it can get a bit messy!
4 Place the courgettes on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 160ºC/Gas Mark 3 for 25 minutes. They can be eaten hot but are even better cold the next day.
Click here for more on Italian cheese (plus links to more delicious formaggio recipes!)
