Summer Harvest Zucchini Boats
Sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and onions fresh from the dirt are all cooked to perfection in these lovely zucchini boats. Basically, this meal is what Tumbleweed Farm tastes like in August.
We are blessed with so much amazing produce at the moment. Each meal has turned into a celebration of the harvest and these zucchini boats are bursting with farm fresh flavors at their peak.
This is one of those non recipe recipes. You can really use any grain and flavor combination that you want, the important thing is to use fresh ingredients. All I did was toss a bunch of our lovely vegetables with some cooked wheat berries and farm fresh pesto. I then stuffed the mixture into a few hollowed out zucchini and put everything into a hot oven. The result was a simple summer meal bursting with farm fresh flavors.
If you haven’t cooked with wheat berries before I highly recommend it. They have a chewy texture that I absolutely adore. I cooked my wheat berries the evening before I made these zucchini boats since wheat berries take a while to cook (about 45 minutes). If you’re strapped for time feel free to substitute with a faster cooking grain.
I hope you all enjoy this summertime meal as much as we do. Savor these fresh flavors while they are still in season. Cheers!
Summer Harvest Zucchini Boats
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Serves: 4
For the zucchini boats:- 1 cup wheat berries
- 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 5 basil leaves, julienned
- 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 large zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 cups packed fresh basil
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- fine sea salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cook wheat berries according to your specific brands instructions.
- Prepare the pesto. Combine all the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor or blender and whirl away until smooth. Taste test and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- In a large bowl toss the pesto with the cooked wheat berries and remaining vegetables.
- With a sharp knife cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon scoop out the flesh leaving 1/4 inch thick shells. Reserve flesh for another use.
- Scoop an even amount of the wheat berry mixture into each zucchini boat. Drizzle with a little olive oil and place the "boats" on a prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven until zucchini is tender and tomatoes have soften and slightly blistered- about 25-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with basil. Enjoy!
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide. *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.
Such beautiful photos! Love all of the fresh produce. These zucchini boats look amazing. Such a great use for zucchini, tomatoes, corn and basil. Yum!
I have to say – your farm stand looks beautiful! I run farmers markets in NYC, and we talk a lot about how important a beautiful stand looks, and to have your eye moving around the stand, especially vertically. Love it!
And glad your farming and blogging are going so well! I’ve read your blog for a few years now (I used to write Vermont Vittles, when we were talking about homesteading. We went full circle and live in NYC now, but are talking about going back to homesteading one day.) 🙂
Yum! I have been eating my own version of these all summer long it feels like. I am one of those novice gardeners that over-planted the squash :\ I cant wait to try yours!
Yay, your squash boats are back! I knew we could expect them any day now 🙂 These do look like a celebration of fresh summer flavors – almost like they’re stuffed with confetti. Little zucchini pinatas! I’m loving them.
I love wheat berries! Every time I make something with them I think, I should really cook these more often. The texture is lovely and I’m wishing I had some in one of these zucchini boats right now. I can just smell how fresh all of that produce is right through the screen!
Great pictures. All my farmers on this side of the country say this is be best harvest they can remember. Incredible yields and quality, too. Hope it is the same for you. I smile each time I see your pics on the Hutchins bulletin board.
You two look great and this is my kind of food. Thanks for the idea.
Can’t get much better than this for a casual August dinner! I love the chewiness of wheat berries too!
I am totally loving the idea of a zucchini “boat”. They look delicious, I definitely need to try out the recipe, thanks for sharing it!
Oh gosh, I saw this on FoodGawker and was wishing you were near. This looks like such a delicious recipe and I was thinking how sad it was I was going to have to go to a different farm and get these veggies, when I really want to support you and thank you for the idea. I especially loved “fresh from the dirt”. Then I saw the mountain and I knew you were in Oregon! I can’t wait to find you!
Beautiful recipe! I love the summer harvest concept, and the pictures are wonderful!
These stuffed boats look amazing. I wish we lived closer to Tumbleweed, because your stand is adorable.
Your basil is out of control! I wish mine grew like that – I always seem to kill it :/ Just discovered wheat berries – these look delicious.
Your farm looks so beautiful and so does this recipe! I’m going to have to try making it!