Farro Stuffed Zucchini

Something Tender Grown from the Garden

Zucchini has a quiet generosity to it — hollow it out and it becomes a vessel, patient and willing, ready to hold whatever the season offers. Stuffed and baked, it transforms into something more considered than its humble shape suggests. There's a satisfying ritual in the scooping, the filling, the slow oven warmth that draws everything together. This is the kind of dish that belongs on a late-summer table, unhurried and abundant, where the garden and the pantry meet without fuss.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked Alessi Medium Grain Pearled Farro
• 3 medium zucchini
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cups Alessi Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cups white button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Alessi Garlic Puree (or two cloves minced fresh garlic)
• Alessi Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
• 10-12 leaves fresh basil
• 1/4 cups Alessi Pine Nuts
• 2 tablespoons Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Prepare farro according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut zucchini in half, lengthwise and scoop out inside pulp using a melon baller. Reserve flesh.
3. Blanch zucchini in boiling water under tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
4. In a bowl, mix together onion, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper and ½ cup of diced zucchini pulp.
5. Saute mixture in olive oil until onions are opaque.
6. Remove from heat and stir in basil and pine nuts.
7. Combine with cooked farro.
8. Spoon mixture into zucchini boats and sprinkle with cheese.
9. Place in oven for 20 minutes.
10. Drizzle with more oil if desired.
11. Serves 6.