Since we’re still in the transitional period from summer to fall I am continuing on in my quest to embrace and blend the best of both seasons in my cooking these days. One of the best parts of summer is all of the amazing fresh produce, especially squash/zucchini toward the end of the season. While never one of my favorites as a kid, as an adult I love meat loaf. This recipe combines a few of my favorites in one: summer squash/zucchini, the meat loaf concept (with turkey) and an Italian twist parmesan style.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
2 cups grated zucchini with water drained
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella divided (1 cup & 1/2 cup)
1 cup tomato sauce divided (1/2 cup & 1/2 cup)
1 small finely chopped onion
3/4 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease a 12-pc muffin/cupcake tin (I use a little olive oil)
3. Grate about 3 cups zucchini on top of a few folded paper towels or clean kitchen towel. Once grated, pull sides of towel up around the grated zucchini and squeeze out the water over the sink. After water is drained your 3 cups will be about 2 cups dry grated zucchini.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, zucchini, onion, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup sauce. Mix well and add in 1 cup shredded mozzarella.
5. Drop by spoonfuls into muffin/cupcake tins.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes
7. With 2-3 minutes left, top each with remaining tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella and a little parsley.
Remove from oven, let stand for 5-10 minutes and serve.
These look delicious! I love the idea of incorporating the shredded zuchinni into a traditional meatloaf. Yum!