Roasted zucchini stuffed with farinheira and tomato

September is still having hot summer days. In fact, it seems that we finally will have all those warm and hot days that didn't appear last August. Now that the holidays are over, we are finally having the desire to go to the beach. Here at home, albeit the heat, the oven doesn't stop being used. Today's recipe is a delicious roasted zucchini stuffed with farinheira and tomato. A truly delight!

Ingredients:
5 small zucchini
Iberian pork farinheira (smoked sausage)
0.5dl olive oil
2 chopped shallots
2 big ripe tomatoes
2 eggs
some savory leaves or a sprig of parsley
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


1. Cut the zucchini in half. With the aid of a knife or a Paris spoon remove the pulp from the zucchini.

2. Chop the zucchini pulp.

3. Pour the oil in a skillet then add the chopped shallots and the chopped zucchini pulp. Stir and cook for a while.

4. Add the chopped unpeeled and unseeded tomatoes. Let it cook for a while.

5. Remove the farinheira skin and then cut it into slices. Add the slices to skillet mixture while stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add the eggs after being scrambled. Add the savory leaves or parsley.

7. Stuff the zucchini with the previous mixture.

8. In a bowl mix the cheese and bread crumbs. Sprinkle the stuffed zucchini with this mixture.

9. Place the zucchini on a oven dish. Put it in a 200ºC preheated oven for 30 minutes.


Enjoy your meal!

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Courgette recheada com farinheira e tomate ]

Zucchini blossoms, tomato and requeijão cheese tart

On one of the beautiful blue sky Saturdays that I have spent in Santarém I had the opportunity to pick several zucchinis. I found zucchinis of every size, from the very large - real dark green pumpkins - to the little ones - tender and sweet - still having its blossom.

I love zucchini and I have cooked it in various ways. Nevertheless, I have never used its blossom. That day, seeing it there at my disposal, I could not resist and picked up a few. The blossoms are very sensitive, consequently I immediately tried to cook it on the next day. The choice fell on a tomato and requeijão cheese tart.

Ingredients:

Pastry:
280g flour
90g butter
0.5dl water

1. Mix the flour with the butter. Then add water and mix again.

2. Roll the mass.

3. Line a tart tin with the dough. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork.

Filling:
90g grated zucchini
2 cloves garlic, minced
30g dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil, chopped
5 eggs
1 requeijão cheese
1dl milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 sprig of parsley and coriander, chopped
2 small ripe tomatoes
8 very small zucchini with blossom
A drizzle of olive oil
70g grated mozzarella cheese


1. Place in a bowl the grated zucchini, the minced garlic cloves, the dried tomatoes, the eggs, the milk and the requeijão cheese slightly smashed by hand. With the aid of a whisk, mix the ingredients very well. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped herbs.

2. Put a portion of this mixture in the tart tin. Add the diced tomato. Pour the remaining mixture. Lay out the small zucchinis with blossom on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

3. Put the tart tin into a 180ºC preheated oven for 40 minutes.


The handmade tart pastry turns out to be very good and this recipe is so simple that it is quite practical.

This tart is delicious served either warm or cold. The zucchini keeps crisp. The blossoms contribute with a slight sweet and velvety flavour. Next year I will try to use just the zucchini blossoms.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Tarte de courgettes em flor com tomate e requeijão ]

Chocolate and zucchini with hazelnuts cake

In that time of the year when zucchini is in season one should take it to the fullest. It isn't a popular expression, but it is an unwritten rule in my home. This coming weekend I will check and see if the zucchini output from my parent's garden has run out. When it will run out, I know that I will feel a little bit nostalgic. Zucchini can be so versatile in its use.

Zucchini tastes good in practically every kind of recipe. It can be grilled, roasted, used in rice, used in soups, used in stews and it can even be used in cakes! I love cakes with zucchini as one of their ingredients. Although it is no longer a novelty, I can sometimes surprise some guests when I present them a zucchini cake.

Last week, for the pizza dinner where longtime friends were gathered, I made ​​a chocolate and zucchini with hazelnuts cake. The recipe is from the BBC Good Food site.

Ingredients:
350g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of spices (I used 10g)
175ml olive oil
375g brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 small zucchini, grated with peel (approx. 450g)
140g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
salt

For the icing:
200g dark chocolate, chopped
100ml cream


1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.

2. In a bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, the mixture of spices and a pinch of salt.

3. In another bowl add the olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and grated zucchini. Stir and then add the dry ingredients already mixed.

4. Add the hazelnuts.

5. Put the mixture into a round cake tin greased with butter or oil spray.

6. Put it into the oven for about 45 to 50 minutes. Once baked, leave it to cool. Unmold.

7. Place the chocolate chopped into pieces in a bowl. Bring the cream to the boil and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Stir very well until it is completely melted. Let it cool for a while and spread it over the cake.


I chose to make my own mix of spices. I added cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, ginger, cumin and cloves. They weren't mixed evenly. I used more cinnamon and fennel and less of the others.

The cake is not very sweet and it contrasts beautifully with the icing. It ended up having a moisture and an intense flavor of its own.

All the guests loved this cake and so did we!

Other cakes made with zucchini (written in Portuguese):
- Zucchini and cocoa with walnuts cake;
- Zucchini and lemon with poppy seeds cake;
- Zucchini and walnuts cake;
- Zucchini with carob flour and almonds cake.

[ Originally published in Portuguese as Bolo de chocolate e courgette com avelãs ]