Crab Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I rarely eat crab, but when it's on sale for half off, I do.  I know fish is best fresh, but here in Columbus, Ohio it's ok to enjoy canned fish.....since nothing is really "fresh" (although the seafood department where I work gets it in probably as fresh as you can find here in Columbus!  I only buy my fresh seafood from our seafood department, needless to say).  Canned crab is incredibly convenient, and actually quite delicious.  When I bought some a few months ago I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it.  At first I thought crab cakes, but then I thought I should try something a little different ( I love crab cakes, but come on, that's boring).  I found this great recipe online for Crab Stuffed Zucchini, and although it was loaded with FODMAPs, I wanted to try it anyway.  This turned out to be such a fantastic recipe that I know I will be using this year's zucchini bounty to make this again and again (and again).

Crab Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Slightly modified from a recipe on AllRecipes.com

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Zucchini, ends trimmed

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 onion, finely chopped**

1/2 yellow (or other color) bell pepper, finely chopped

1 pound crab meat

1 tsp. smoked paprika

pepper to taste

1/4 cup white cooking wine

1 cup Panko bread crumbs**

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Slice the zucchini in half the long way, and scoop out the flesh leaving about 1/2-inch thick skins.  Place on a baking sheet.

3.  Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and bell pepper until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes).  Gently stir in the crabmeat, and cook for about 5 more minutes (until crab meat is hot).  Season the crab mixture with paprika and pepper.

4.  Place the crab mixture into a mixing bowl, and lightly stir in panko bread crumbs, mayonnaise, and white wine.  Add a bit more mayonnaise to help the mixture hold together, if needed.  Spoon the filling into the prepared zucchini boats, and top each with ~ 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese.

5.  Bake in preheated oven until the cheese melts and the filling is hot (~15-20 minutes).

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPs diet you will need to omit the onion.  Perhaps you could replace the onion with more pepper ( I haven't tried this, but it might be tasty!).  Also, look for a wheat free bread to make your own bread crumbs (although for most people on this diet, the small amount of unseasoned panko in this recipe shouldn't cause any problems).  

In the skillet.  Mmmmmm...crab!

Hollowed out zucchini boats

In the oven.

Nick added sriracha to his boat.  It wasn't a bad idea actually. 

Source: CalorieCount.com

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 2 boats (one full zucchini squash)

Nutrition Highlights:  Under 400 calories, good source of Vitamin A and fiber, excellent source of calcium, iron, vitamin C and protein.

Yes, this recipe is not low in sodium (not even close) and if you're watching your sodium I would suggest.....well.....not making this.  You could look for lower sodium versions of the ingredients, but I tried to use the lowest sodium version of the ingredients as possible (I'm actually not sure how accurate this sodium number is, I came up with closer to 900 mg).  The main culprits were the mayo, panko, and of course, the parmesan cheese (you could forgo the parmesan cheese, and I bet these would still be tasty!). This recipe was very easy to make, and both Nick and I really enjoyed the boats for a couple days (they were great as leftovers).

QUESTION:  What's your favorite vegetable to hollow out and make into a "boat"??  Or perhaps you like to do this with fruit?

Thanks for reading.

The Candid Rd