Stuffed zucchini with pasta

For me, inspiration often comes from the book I’m currently reading. Last week when I made this dish I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love…specifically I was on the “eat” section and since she was in Rome and eating pasta I too wanted to eat pasta. Which was fortunate because I had just purchased a pasta machine.

Actually it was my second machine in a week. The first machine was purchase at The Kitchen Store located on Williamson Street, next to Lazy Jane’s. It’s a relatively new store and I do love to shop local so I bought a few needed items and a pasta machine. But when I got it home and opened it up it was obviously very poorly made. I boxed it back up and took it back to Roz, the proprietor of the store and she promptly gave me a refund. The one thing that I bought at the store that I truly, truly love is a garlic mincing gadget called the Garlic Twist. I’m really not much for gadgets, I’ve had the same Zyliss garlic press for 20 years and I rarely use it. But this gadget is attractive, easy to use, and more importantly…easy to clean. It’s perfect for those times when you simply need one clove of garlic minced.

But I’d pondered a life with a pasta machine so I couldn’t tolerate a life without one…and I hadn’t even used it yet. But those brief dreams of fresh fettuccine, ravioli, and lasagna just couldn’t be shaken from my mind. That’s when I got the brilliant idea to check ebay for a pasta machine. Some quick research showed me that Atlas or Imperia were the brands to trust and ebay had a bunch of them for sale. I found mine for $35 with shipping and it arrived on my doorstep in 2 days…wow! My other awesome and recent ebay purchase was prompted by my butter fingers dropping a #36 Le Creuset gratin pan and narrowly missing my left foot. Damn those things are heavy! You wouldn’t expect it to hit a wooden floor and crack into several pieces…but that is exactly what happened. I almost cried…I bought that pan 14 years ago at the Salvation Army store in Antioch, Ca. It cost me $5.00…best deal, ever! But to replace it now would cost a staggering $119 for a new one….but never fear, I found one on ebay for $25 and it was in my hot little hands 5 days later. I love the internets…yes I do!

Okay so now back to the original topic…zucchini gratin and pasta. With 2 jumbo zucchinis to stuff I found my inspiration in Gilbert’s tales of dining in Rome….what would a Roman stuff a zucchini with? I came up with some ground pork, mushrooms, onion, garlic, 2 roma tomatoes diced, sage, thyme, and a bit of cream. I hollowed out the zuchs, filled them with this mixture, topped them with Parmesan and baked them at 350F for about 30 minutes…them were absolutely perfect. The stuffing was savory and rich and the zucchini was light and zesty…a perfect match.

Served along side these splendid zuchs was a tangle of perfect, al dente fettuccine tossed with olive oil, one mined garlic clove (see…I used the garlic twist), and pepper. Topped with a feathery beard of Parmesan this was the best pasta I’ve ever ate. It was fun to make it myself, so easy to roll it out with the pasta machine…and so satisfying to see and feel it being produced.

Go out here and stuff those zucchinis, make that pasta, feel good about life…enjoy some irrational exuberance!

20 August 2007 | Local, Wisconsin, beef, fish, poultry, pork, favorite products, food, gratins, stews, and stir-frys, pasta, pizza, noodles, quick and easy, recipe, vermont Valley CSA | Comments