Mexican Zucchini Boats

Remember the stuffed tomatoes I made a little while ago? Well, the stuffing-things-into-summer-produce bug has bit me. I made up my mind several weeks ago to try some sort of stuffed zucchini, but I hadn't decided what I was going to stuff it with. I was thinking about burritos the other day and inspiration struck: mexican zucchini boats.

Notes: You can make the rice with just water, but you'd be sacrificing an amazing amount of flavor. Canned tomato puree is easy and inexpensive. I happened to have fresh on hand, but I would have used canned otherwise. It gives the rice a lot of depth.

You want to make sure not to make the rice mixture too wet. If it seems to have too much liquid when it's finished, you can drain it (you'll have your strainer out anyway).

Don't toss out the zucchini innards once you're finished scooping! I've got a plan for those---stay tuned for the next recipe!

These are so cute, they would be great for entertaining.

Ingredients:
1 cup minute rice
1 cup tomato puree
2 medium-large zucchini
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
1 15 oz. can of black beans
10 dashes hot sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 small bunch fresh cilantro
3-4 oz. cheese (I used Mahon), grated
Salt
Pepper
Butter or olive oil

Directions:

Heat oven to 400

Mince garlic, shallot, and cilantro. Rinse and drain the beans. Heat just about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter in a sauce pan over medium-high. When the oil is hot or butter melted, add the garlic and shallots and saute until just starting to turn translucent.

Season with salt and pepper. Add cumin, chili powder, sugar, and hot sauce. Pour in tomato puree and stir. Bring the mixture just to a boil and add the rice. Turn off the heat and let stand 5 minutes.

While the rice is finishing, cut the zucchini in half length-wise (I cut mine in half across first to make shorter boats). Using a spoon or melon baller, scoop some of the innards out of the zucchini. Be careful not to dig a hole in the bottom or the sides. Place the boats in an oiled baking dish and season the inside with salt and pepper.

When the rice is done, add in the black beans and cilantro and stir everything together. Using a slotted spoon to drain off the excess liquid, scoop the rice mixture into the zucchini boats, packing it in. Put grated cheese on top of each boat. Bake covered with foil for about 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 8-10 more minutes until zucchini is fork tender and the cheese starts to just brown.

Serve and enjoy!