Zucchini Boats with Pesto Lentils
and garlic bread

Name: Zucchini Boats with Pesto Lentils
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Pine nuts (sub walnuts or pecans); 1 clove Garlic, peeled; 1 oz Cheese, parmesan (opt), cut into large pieces; 1 1/2 oz Basil leaves, fresh; 2 tsp Lemon juice; 3 Tbsp Oil, olive; 4 Zucchini, medium (~½ lb / 227 g per zucchini); 1 Tomatoes, medium, chopped; 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp Oil, cooking; 2 cups Lentils, cooked (use pre-cooked lentils or if cooking from dried, use half the amount of dried and prepare according to package directions); 1/2 cup Basil pesto (ingredients listed separately); 4 slices Cheese, provolone (sub Swiss); 2 cloves Garlic, chopped; 1 stalk Green onions, chopped, green and white parts combined; 1 Tbsp Cheese, parmesan, grated; 3 Tbsp Butter; 8 oz Baguette or ciabatta

Active: 45 min Total: 45 min

Original GF Paleo Vegetarian

Zucchini boats are always a fun way to make a vegetable the star of the meal. This version uses roasted zucchini filled with flavorful pesto lentils and is topped with melty cheese.
Smarts: In past versions of zucchini boats, community members said they wanted to use all of the zucchini in the finished dish, so that's what we've done here. Once you scrape out the zucchini filling to form the 'boats' be sure to set it aside to saute with the lentils.

Ingredients

Metric

Servings:

Basil Pesto:

Pine nuts - 2 Tbsp (sub walnuts or pecans)
Garlic - 1 clove , peeled
Cheese, parmesan (opt) - 1 oz , cut into large pieces
Basil leaves, fresh - 1 1/2 oz
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp

Lentil Pesto Zucchini Boats:

Zucchini, medium - 4 (~½ lb / 227 g per zucchini)
Tomatoes, medium - 1 , chopped
Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
Lentils, cooked - 2 cups (use pre-cooked lentils or if cooking from dried, use half the amount of dried and prepare according to package directions)
Basil pesto (ingredients listed separately) - 1/2 cup
Cheese, provolone - 4 slices (sub Swiss)

Garlic Bread:

Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped
Green onions - 1 stalk , chopped, green and white parts combined
Cheese, parmesan - 1 Tbsp , grated
Butter - 3 Tbsp
Baguette or ciabatta - 8 oz

Prep

Make pesto - (Skip if made ahead on Monday.) Toast nuts in a dry skillet or frying pan until fragrant and golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Peel garlic cloves (portion for pesto). Place nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese (portion for pesto, if using), basil leaves, and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are well chopped. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil until smooth. (Add some additional olive oil if needed to help everything blend.) Season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Zucchini - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating before continuing with prep.) Slice in half lengthwise and then use a spoon to scoop out the center of each zucchini half, leaving ~1/2” / 1.25 cm thick shell on all sides. Chop the filling of the zucchini and reserve it in a separate container. Check out this video. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
Tomatoes / Garlic (portion for garlic bread) / Green onions / Cheese (portion for garlic bread) - Prep as directed.
Prep garlic bread - Heat butter in microwave just until soft, 10 to 20 seconds. Combine butter with garlic (portion for garlic bread), green onions, and parmesan cheese (portion for garlic bread). Slice bread open lengthwise and put it cut-side up on a sheet pan. Spread with garlic butter.

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Make

Heat oven to 400F / 204C.
Place zucchini halves on a second sheet pan, cut-side facing up. Brush zucchini halves with first portion of cooking oil and season with some salt and pepper.
Transfer zucchini to oven and bake until zucchini halves are nearly tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
While zucchini halves are roasting, heat a large skillet with second portion of cooking oil over medium-high heat. Add the reserved chopped zucchini and saute until tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add lentils and tomatoes and saute until lentils are heated through and liquid has cooked off, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and allow lentils to cool slightly.
Stir pesto into lentils. Season with some salt and pepper.
When zucchini is nearly tender, remove from oven and fill zucchini halves with lentils (mound the filling over the tops if needed). Top with provolone cheese.
Transfer both sheet pans (zucchini and garlic bread) to oven. Bake until cheese is melted and garlic bread is lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
Serve zucchini boats with garlic bread on the side. Enjoy!

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