Recipes
Stuffed Zapallitos
4 zapallitos, parboiled slightly in salted water, split in half crosswise
1 cup very small cubes of stale bread
1 cup boiling milk
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil or butter
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
½ cup grated Parmesan type cheese
½ cup bread crumbs
2 slightly beaten eggs
salt, ground nutmeg and pepper, to taste
a little oil
Zapallitos are small rounded, very tender squash, akin to zucchini. After washing them and cleaning them, split in half crosswise slicing off a portion at the top and bottom so as to stand better. Parboil a few minutes on salted water in which vinegar and surgar have been added (equal parts each, a teaspoon per pint of liquid). Remove from water and set in colander to drain until cool enough to handle with ease. Scoop out pulp, leaving a rind of about 1 cm thick all around. Reserve pulp to be added to stuffing. Pour boiling milk over bread cubed and soak thoroughly. Cook chopped onion gently in oil until tender, then add finely chopped pulp, parsley and cheese. Add to the onion mixture the soaked bread cubes, beaten eggs and season with salt, nutmeg and pepper to taste. Stuff mixture into zapallitos shells, cover with breadcrumbs and a little oil and bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes or until nicely browned. Serve hot or cold.
