Recipe for Life: Crab-Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Recipe for Life

Sitcom star Daphne Maxwell Reid is a woman of many talents and she makes everything she does – whether its acting, fashion design, photography or hosting a magazine show – look effortless. But her crab-stuffed zucchini boats really do come together easily and quickly, making them the perfect elegant appetizer or show-stopping addition to a surf ‘n’ turf entree.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large zucchini
  • 1/2 lb. (230 g) crab meat, picked clean
  • 1/4 c. (40 g) chopped onion
  • 1/4 c. (40 g) chopped celery
  • 1 Tbsp. (15 g) butter
  • 4 Tbsp. (60 g) sour cream
  • 1/4 c. (40 g) bread crumbs
  • 1/4 c. (22 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven at 350° F (180° C).

Cut zucchini in half, lengthwise. Scoop out and reserve the pulp, leaving about 1/2 inch (13 mm) of pulp in the skin (to create a hollowed out zucchini “boat”).

Parboil the zucchini in salted water in a very large pot for about 6 minutes. Do not overcook (you don’t want it to get too soft or limp, just bright green). Remove from water, pat dry, and place in a baking dish.

In a frying pan, sauté the onions and celery in butter until tender, adding about 1/2 cup (75 g) of the reserved zucchini pulp (chopped) to the pan in the last two minutes of cooking.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the sour cream, bread crumbs and crab meat. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.  Spoon mixture into the zucchini shells, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown.  Serves 2.