This is the Antipasto (appetizer) we will be making and serving, for the Halloween Italian Cooking Class/Pop Up Supper Club in Support of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry.

The event will be held on October 30, 2020. I will use the freshest vegetable I can find for the class, but for this recipe I used round zucchini squash that was grown by my neighbor in his garden. My neighbor, Billy usually brings us vegetables and we provide him with fresh eggs from our chickens. I love living in the country and having access to simple fresh ingredients. So when I say “Farm-to-Table”, I really mean it. 😃

Ingredients:

• 2 round zucchini squash
• 1 small red onion
• 1 small tomato (in this photo I have a yellow tomato from the garden)
• 1 small bell pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 or 2 green chilies (optional – leave them out if you want to tone down the spice level)
• 2 slices of fresh Mozzarella
• 4 ounces of grated Parmesan
• 3 sprigs of fresh herbs (here I have basil, oregano and thyme – I grow these in the sunroom just outside the kitchen)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil (1 for coating the squash and 2 for coating the pan used for cooking the filling)
• 1 tablespoon of my Italian Spice Mix
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prep:

• Remove the stems from the squash and cut them in half going from stem to stern
• Hollow out the squash using a grapefruit spoon. Don’t throw out the innards. Instead, dice them and set aside. We don’t waste anything. The innards will become part of the filling.
• Dice the onion, tomato, bell pepper and Mozzarella slices
• Mince the chilies and garlic
• Finely chop the herbs
• Season the hollowed out squash with salt, pepper, Italian spice mix and olive oil

Cooking the filling:

Most Italian stuffed vegetables have breadcrumbs in the mixture. But I decided to leave out the breadcrumbs so that I could make this recipe gluten free and also fit my ketogenic lifestyle. Trust me, you won’t even miss the breadcrumbs.

I have also made stuffed peppers and mushrooms using a similar recipe. I took photos of the mushroom recipe and just posted it. I posted Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers on November 7, 2018. The cauliflower stuffed peppers are also gluten free. Please click on the link in the previous sentence if you want to see the stuffed peppers recipe.

I am really looking forward to making this recipe with my students on October 30, 2020. My husband will be selecting a local Italian style wine to pair with this Antipasto course. Should be yummy and fun. 😋😃