Calabacin relleno

Preserved fish is a pretty big deal in Spain (they say the best of the catch is often found in tins), and while the lowest end tuna here is probably better than some of the average brands in the US, that's not saying a whole lot.  I didn't have any money to work with today, but I did have Yolanda's surplus zucchini, and a €0.50 tin of tuna in the cupboard whose flavor and texture I wanted to mask as much as possible.

With the roasted red peppers and olives from Paco I had the makings of a filling that would stretch the tuna and conceal it at the same time.  Onion, parsley and pimentón brought it all together and a few spoonfuls of the crumbs from my first attempt at baking bread finished it off.

Made this..

With that

This evening Yolanda brought home her haul from the produce shop. She was eager to show me that I now have two more mammoth calabacins at my disposal, but when I looked through my Murcian cookbooks for ideas the zucchini recipes called for ingredients like shrimp, butter, chopped chicken and bechamel.  As much as I love those ingredients on their own, the permutations just don't sound all that enticing when delivered by way of another hollowed out zucchini.  Perhaps it's time to try my first tortilla Española and make up one of its many vegetable variations..or just resort to digging out a loaf pan and introducing the girls to good ol' American zucchini bread.

Calabacin relleno

Ingredients
1 medium zucchini
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/2 of an onion, finely diced
Half of a roasted red pepper, diced
A handfull of small black cuquillo olives, pitted and chopped
1 small tin of tuna
Parsley, chopped
Bread crumbs
Pimentón

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
-Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the centers, leaving a the walls of the zucchini about 1/4 of an inch thick
-Chop up the the seeds and flesh and set aside
-Brush the insides of the cucumbers all over with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper
-Bake cut side down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil for about 10 minutes, then flip over and bake for another few minutes, until the flesh in the middle of the zucchini begins to brown
-Remove from the oven and set aside
-Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add the onion and a pinch of salt
-Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown
-Add in the seeds and pulp of the zucchini and continue to cook until they have broken down and the liquid in the pan has evaporated
-Add in the roasted red peppers and the olives and cook for 3-5 more minutes, stirring frequently
-Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add in the tuna and flake with a fork
-Add the parsley and stir until all ingredients are well mixed
-Use a spoon to fill each zucchini half with the mixture
-Season a few spoonfuls of bread crumbs with salt and pimentón, then drizzle with olive oil and mix until the oil is incorporated and the texture becomes sandy
-Top each filled zucchini half with the breadcrumbs
-Bake for a few minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown
-Remove from the oven and top with a little fresh parsley