Quinoa stuffed zucchini is not only a delicious and colorful dish, it’s also very healthy. I flavored tri-color quinoa with grilled vegetables, grilled haloumi cheese and red beans. I also topped the dish with slices of sun-dried tomato chicken sausage.
1. Info for Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 6
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Recipe
- 1 cup tri-color quinoa
- 1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
- 12 sunburst squash, quartered
- 8 ounces haloumi cheese, cut into 5 thin slices lengthwise
- 1 sprig English thyme
- 1 roasted red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 9 ball zucchini, cut in half
- 1 cup red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup haricots verts (or green beans), boiled and cut into 1½”-pieces
- 1 ear of corn, husked and cut into thirds
- 1 white onion, cut into small wedges
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon horseradish mustard
- 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
- 4 sun-dried tomato sausages (optional)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon combined black, green and pink peppercorns
3. Directions:
3.1 Making quinoa
Fill a saucepan with vegetable broth. Add the quinoa and bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat to medium-low and cook for about 20 minutes until the liquid evaporates. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover and let cool to room temperature.
3.2 Grilling vegetables
Brush all sides of the vegetables with a thin layer of oil.
Place the grill pan on a hot barbecue. Once the pan is hot, add the sprigs of thyme (for a nice aroma) and place the corn, onion wedges, zucchini and sunburst squash on the grill pan, cut side down. Cook until grill marks are visible. Lift the zucchini with tongs and rotate them 45° so there are criss-cross charred marks. Close the grill and cook for a few more minutes until they’re all softened and fully cooked. Remove and discard the thyme.
Remove the corn from the pan. Cut the corn kernels off the cob, using a sharp chef’s knife. Set aside.
Note: I cut the ear of corn in thirds because I find it easier to maneuver on the grill. You could leave it whole if you find it better to hold on to this way.
3.3 Grilling the haloumi cheese and sausages (if using)
Repeat the same procedure as for the veggies. Once they’re grilled, dice the haloumi cheese (and set it aside) and slice the sausages and return the meat into the pan. Cook for 2 more minutes and set aside.
3.4 For the sauce
In a small bowl, combine the dry mustard, horseradish mustard, honey, lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Whisk well, season with salt and cracked pepper.
3.5 Assembly time
Using a small spoon, create a cavity and remove the pulp from the ball zucchini, leaving the outside “shell”. Gather the zucchini pulp and coarsely chop.
In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, kidney beans, grilled haloumi cheese, veggies (with the zucchini pulp), sweet basil and sauce. Toss well.
Stuff each zucchini with about 2-3 tablespoons of the quinoa mixture, creating a small mound. Cover with slices of sausages (if using). Serve at room temperature.
Bon appétit!
Stuffed zucchini with sun-dried tomato sausage and grilled haloumi cheese.
4. Tips and advices:
- If you don’t have quinoa, you could use semolina (coarsely-ground durum wheat), bulgur (wheat grains that are partly cooked), regular couscous (tiny pasta made from semolina), Israeli couscous or even cooked pasta such as orzo.
- For easier assembling, you could serve this dish as a quinoa salad and incorporate coarsely chopped grilled zucchini. Using the regular kind woul
- For this dish, count about 3 halved zucchini per person.
- I cooked the sausages at the last step, so it’s still possible to keep the dish vegetarian and add slices of sausage for people who want to add some.
- For a vegan version, simply omit the haloumi cheese.
- I bought sun-dried tomato sausages at Costco.
- You can find haloumi cheese in most Middle Eastern market. It’s the perfect cheese to grill. You can get nice grilling marks without the cheese falling apart on the barbecue.
- Sunburst squash are also known as pattypan squash, cibleme, scallopini squash, custard squash, scallop squash, button squash or summer squash.
- Little reminder on how to roast bell peppers: I used the grill pan as well for the bell pepper. Wash the bell peppers and pat dry. Place them on the grill on a barbecue and char all the skin. Wrap in aluminum foil. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Wash under running water and the skin will come right off. Seed and coarsely chop, drizzle with oil and season with salt; set aside until needed.