I am generally less inspired in the kitchen in the summer time. I love a garden to table approach, which means I eat a lot salads and smoothies, but the lettuce, kale, and spinach got scorched and pulled, so now it is time for squash. This recipe was created because I had a bunch of zucchini almost read to be picked, and then I lost three of the four to blossom rot. So, I halved the squash, used a zucchini from my garden and a yellow squash I had left over from something else, and have half the filling left over. I'm sure I'll find a good use for it, but below is what you would need for the full recipe. I'm writing it with zucchini, but honestly, the squash was just as good! Also, I had left over rice, so I heated that up, but it really didn't need it.
What you need:
4 zucchinis
1/2 salsa (I had medium)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 can of water
1 lb ground turkey
a few tablespoons of diced pancetta (I had this in my fridge and added it for the fat. It probably isn't necessary, but it was good!)
1/2 an onion, minced (I had a red one)
1/2 a bell pepper, minced (I had yellow)
1-2 tsp each- chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayanne pepper, and paprika (I like hot hungarian paprika, but regular would be fine)
salt and pepper
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. green onion, chopped
So, start by pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees. While it was heating up, I cut the ends off of my zucchinis, cut them long-ways down the middle and scooped out all the seeds. Put a little salsa in the bottom of a baking dish and then lay your zucchini on top of the salsa. Then start a large skillet over med-high heat. If you are using pancetta, start that in the pan and when it gets a little crisp and has rendered some fat, add the ground turkey, salt and pepper to season. If you aren't using the pancetta, add a little olive oil so the turkey will brown nicely.
Next, while that's browning, mince your onion and pepper. I use my trusty mini food processor, which was perfect! Once your turkey is cooked through, add the veggies, tomato sauce, water, spices and some more salt and pepper. I like things with a little kick, so I was a little heavier with the cayanne and paprika, but season and taste, and stop when its good! Let this all simmer together for about 5-7 minutes until the mixture gets nice and thick.
Spoon the filling into your zucchini boats, top with cheddar cheese, cover with foil, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes covered. I uncovered for the last five minutes to brown the cheese a little, and even did a few minutes in the broiler because it wasn't as brown as I wanted. Then top it with your chopped green onion. I served it on a bed of rice, but it really didn't need a starch.
I'm looking forward to leftovers!
I got the idea for this recipe from Pinterest, but I ended up tweaking it a little bit and have an idea for what I will do differently next time already. I love quiche, but never make it because the one time I tried before was a disaster! If I'm being completely honest, I was really nervous about this because really, my favorite part of quiche is the crust. It's buttery, flaky and oh so delicious... I'm getting side-tracked! So, when I decided to try this quiche, I realized that I was just going to go into it with different expectations.
So, yesterday I roasted my squash. I used all the muscle I have in order to chop it in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds, and then roasted it cut side down for about 45 minutes on 400 degrees.
I did this step a day ahead because I had the time. Quiche itself is time consuming, so getting the first step done and out of the way made the whole process go more smoothly.
So, because I cooked the squash ahead of time, it was scooped out (just scrape it all out with a fork) and cooled by the time I needed to press it into my pie plate. I pre-heated the oven to 400 and then pressed the squash into it. I then sprinkled about a handful of grated Parmesan cheese over the squash and then put it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Now, I did this in hopes that it would help it harden and crisp up a little before I added all the filling stuff, but I'm pretty sure it didn't do anything. Next time, I'm going to pat it all dry with a paper towel before baking it. Maybe that will help with the browning.
Anyway, while that was baking, I peeled a big shallot and threw it in my mini food processor. I heated a medium skillet with a little olive oil in it and then started the shallots going over medium to medium low heat. While they are softening up, I cut the ends off of the asparagus (snap one to see where the natural break is, then cut the rest at that same length) and then cut them into 1 inch pieces. Once you have them ready, toss them into your pan and cook them for just a few minutes. Don't get them get too soft, just till the green pops and they are tender. Once you get those in the pan, take your "crust" out of the oven.
While the asparagus is cooking, mix together 5 eggs, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of cheese (I grated Gruyere, but Swiss would be good, too, salt, and pepper. Whisk that all together and then put the shallots and asparagus into the crust and pour the egg mixture over top. Put it in the oven and let it bake for about 45 minutes.
Here it is out of the oven. Notice my beautiful new butcher block counter tops in the background. Ahh, so pretty!
Overall, I think the quiche is good. I didn't even really miss the crust. It was a little sweet, which surprised me, but I did enjoy it very much and would definitely make it again. Hopefully patting the squash down will help control some of the excess moisture. Let me know what you think!
I enjoyed this delicious quiche with a little salad that my friend Adam introduced me to a few weeks ago. I modified it slightly because I don't love feta, but here is what you see pictured here. I mixed a little spinach and arugula with some chopped fresh mint, some toasted pine nuts, and a little Panela cheese. Dress it with just a little rice vinegar and black pepper. It is so yummy!
