Stuffed zucchini with pork, beef, chorizo and rice

Slice the tops off the zucchini, arrange the bottoms on a tray, dice out the insides and set the trimmings aside for the stuffing.

Season the zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake about 35 minutes, or until tender.

Chop onion, carrot and celery for a mirepoix; mince garlic; chop piquillo pepper, chorizo and parsley.

Break down and pre-cook the ground pork and beef with butter and olive oil on high heat for 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a bowl.

Sweat the chorizo with a drizzle of olive oil for a couple of minutes.

Add the mirepoix and cook 5 minutes on high, then add garlic and herbes de Provence and cook until fragrant.

Add the zucchini trimmings, piquillo pepper, crushed tomatoes and the meat; stir, cover and cook 20 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl; add cooked rice, two-thirds of the parsley, more seasoning if needed, then the egg.

Stuff the zucchini generously; top with parmigiano and bread crumbs mixed with olive oil. Extra stuffing can be frozen.

Roast at 450F / 220C for about 10 minutes.

Variation: for a vegetarian version, leave out the meat and the chorizo.