I love pizza.
I also love zucchini.
And I love light dinners. Especially in the hot, summer evenings.
The only option I had is to combine all the things I love. The result? These magnificent pizza boats.
They’re one of those creative recipes you can play with & come up with new, unique combinations every single time. Which means, dinner can be super fun!
By this point, you’re probably getting tired of me saying how awesome zucchinis are. I will, however, continue to remind you, hoping that the next time you’re grocery shopping & see them, you’d be all like – Hey, I must buy zucchini, Nina always says they’re amazing!
When that happens, my job is done.
And they are amazing – let’s face it, anything that can turn into pizza is amazing. Period.
As a bonus, potassium in them will make our hearts happy. Abundance of vitamins – C, K, B6, B2 & folate will help keeping our whole body funcitoning at its best. Last but not least, fiber in zucchini will make our digestion work perfectly.
Pretty cool for a pizza, don’t you think?
We’re also gonna need one of my other favorites – tomatoes! Did I already tell you all about how much I love them? Tomatoes are cinnamon of summer – like Christmas doesn’t work without cinnamon, summer cannot work without tomatoes.
Lycopen in the tomatoes is a wonder maker – keeping our cells protected from nasty free radicals & helping lower our blood pressure.
Tomatoes are also rich in fiber, flavonoids & vitamins – C, K & folate. All the good stuff!
Main mineral in tomatoes is potassium – remember, happy heart? Hell yeah!
From here, you’re basically free to play.
Some beautiful foods I love using to stuff my boats with are mushrooms, chickpeas, salmon, diced bell peppers, garlic – the same stuff I use for my actual pizza.
You can try it with these fillings, but also with whatever you love putting on your pizza. Anything can work. Which is why pizza is awesome & why these boats are probably the best dinner for anyone.
As far as cheese goes, I sometimes use it, and sometimes I experiment with self-made vegan cheeses (when I find the perfect recipe, I’ll share it :))
If you’re avoiding dairy, try vegan cheeses – there are tons of recipes online. Or leave it out all together, it tastes amazing anyways.
When I use dairy cheese, it’s mostly shredded cheese or/and mozzarella. Cheese will boost our protein intake & give us B12 vitamin, which we can ONLY get from animal products. That’s what’s cool about cheese. However, I don’t eat much of it, dairy doesn’t serve me well. Cheese will also give us some minerals, like zinc, phosphorus & magnesium.
Of course, we’re gonna spice our pizza with all the beautiful herbs – I use mixture of oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary & basil.
Each of these contains its own health magic & I actually plan to release a mini course all about mastering spices & herbs for beginners – let me know if you’d be interested in that!
WHY YOU SHOULD EAT IT:
- Zucchini: potassium, magnesium, vitamins C, K, B6, B2 & folate, fiber
- Tomatoes: lycopene, vitamins C + K, folate, potassium, beta carotene & flavonoids.
- Olive oil: vitamin E, healthy fats
ZUCCHINI PIZZA BOATS
The only summer dinner you'll need!
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini washed, halved lenghtwise
- 1/2 cup (ca. 100g) tomatoes diced & drained, from glass jar
- 1 tsp (or more) dry seasoning mix oregano, basil, thyme etc.
- 1/2 cup (ca. 100g) mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup (ca 120g) mozzarella cheese sliced
- 1 handful cheese shredded
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
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Using a small spoon, scoop out the zucchini flesh. Mindfully - don't break through the skin.
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Place zucchini boats on the parchment lined baking pan.
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Preheat the oven at 200°C/400°F.
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Drain the exces water out of zucchini flesh, combine it with tomatoes, seasoning mixture & mushrooms.
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Transfer the mixture to a medium skillet & cook on a medium heat for a couple of minutes - 5 to 10.
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Salt & pepper to taste. Add a handful of shredded cheese, combine well.
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Fill the zucchini boats with the mixture & bake for ca. 15-20 minutes, until zucchinis are crispy.
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Take out & arrange mozzarella slices over the boats. Sprinkle the boats with a bit more of seasoning, if desired.
Bake for additional 5 minutes, or until mozzarella melts.
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Take the boats out & let them cool a bit before eating.
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Enjoy!
YOUR TURN:
What are your favorite pizza toppings? I wanna know!
Also, did you know you can share the recipes you make with me? Tag me @ninasempire or use #ninasempire on the ‘Gram so that I can see your creations!
Lots of love,
Nina
