How to Cook Round Courgettes

Last Updated: January 27, 2021 Tested

On a cold day, few things taste better than a round courgette baked to perfection with savory fillings. Courgettes, or round zucchini squash, don’t take too long to prepare, but require a bit of cooking prep and baking time in the oven beforehand. Ready to add this hearty dish to your repertoire? Here’s a tasty recipe to get you started!

Ingredients

Chicken and Tomato Filling

6 round courgettes, small
3 US tbsp (44 mL) of olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 US tbsp (15 mL) of tomato purée
2 US tbsp (5.5 g) of fresh thyme or oregano, coarsely chopped
200 g (7 oz) of chicken mince
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Serves 6 people

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Prepping the Courgettes

1
Wash off your courgettes and dry them off. Soak each courgette under running water, brushing away any dirt and grime from the surface.^{[1]
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2
Slice off the tops of the courgettes. Remove the top from each squash, setting them aside for later. In this dish, your courgette doubles as as both a bowl and an entree!^{[2]
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3
Hollow out the middle of each courgette and set it aside. Grab a spoon and scoop out any seeds and pulp from the center of each squash. Then, scrape out the extra squash along the sides until the outer shell is only 1 ¹⁄₂ cm (0.59 in) thick. Set this filling aside in a bowl for later.^{[3]
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4
Bake the courgette shells in a greased pan for 30-35 minutes. Set your oven to 200 °C (392 °F). While the oven preheats, coat the bottom of a roasting tin or earthenware dish with olive oil. Then, arrange your 6 hollowed courgettes along the greased pan, letting them bake for 30-35 minutes.^{[4]
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- When the courgettes come out of the oven, they should be a little tender but still able to hold their curved shape.
- Don’t turn the oven off just yet—you’ll need to use it later on.
5
Saute the courgette flesh until it’s tender. Pour 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of olive oil into a frying pan, letting the bottom get greased up. Then, add the courgette flesh into the greased saucepan. Stir and cook the filling for a few minutes, or until the courgette is nice and soft. Once it’s cooked, pour the flesh into a bowl and set it aside for later.^{[5]
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- The courgette flesh might be a bit watery at first. Don’t worry—that’s perfectly normal!^{[6]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Adding the Filling

1
Fry onions and garlic for several minutes. Pour another 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of oil into the frying pan, getting it nice and greased before adding any new ingredients. Add 1 chopped onion to the skillet, stirring and sauteeing until it’s soft and totally translucent. As the onion cooks, stir 2 cloves of minced garlic into the same pan.^{[7]
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2
Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato purée to the onion mixture. Scoop 4 chopped tomatoes into the frying pan, along with 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of tomato purée. Keep stirring the tomatoes into the other veggies until the tomatoes start collapsing and losing their shape.^{[8]
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3
Mix freshly chopped herbs with the cooked courgette filling. Grab the bowl of courgette filling that you set aside a little earlier. Pour the filling into the onion and tomato mixture, along with 2 US tbsp (5.5 g) of freshly chopped thyme or oregano. As a finishing touch, season the filling with a pinch of salt and pepper. When everything’s stirred together, dump the mixture into a separate bowl.^{[9]
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4
Saute the chicken mince on the stovetop. Pour another 1 US tbsp (15 mL) of oil into the frying pan. Then, add in 7 oz (200 g) of chicken mince into the greased skillet. Stir the chicken until it looks light-colored and fully-cooked.^{[10]
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- Chicken mince is another term for ground chicken.
- For an extra meaty dish, stuff your courgettes with 7 oz (200 g) of beef mince, 7 oz (200 g) of pork sausage, 3.5 oz (100 g) of chicken mince, 2 garlic cloves, 1 egg, and 1 bunch of parsley.^{[11]
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5
Mix the cooked chicken and vegetable filling together. Combine the chicken mince and veggie mixture in the same skillet, stirring everything together into a uniform filling. Give it a quick taste test, and add some extra salt and pepper as needed.^{[12]
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6
Stuff the courgettes and bake them for 30 minutes. Ladle the savory filling into the center of each courgette, filling each one to the brim. Grab the courgette tops that you sliced off earlier and place them on top of the filling. Then, sprinkle olive oil over each closed courgette. Let them bake for a half hour, or until they’re nice and brown.^{[13]
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- Stuffed courgettes taste great with wine and a loaf of crusty bread.