This is the best stuffed cucuzza recipe filled with my mom's Sicilian meatball mixture and slowly simmered in tomato sauce until rich and fragrant. Serve the sauce tossed with your favorite pasta and the stuffed cucuzza as a main course along with a salad for the perfect, complete Sicilian meal!
The aroma of this stuffed cucuzza longa brings me back to my childhood. My father grew this meter long, baseball bat shaped squash in his garden and my mother did her best to keep up with the abundance by preparing it in so many ways!
You can read more about this infamous squash which is so popular amongst Sicilians as well as the first cucuzza recipe I posted here.
Just imagine this squash stuffed with my mom's best meatball recipe and simmered in tomato sauce until tender and fragrant, this is without a doubt my favorite cucuzza recipe.
To serve stuffed cucuzza, boil your favorite pasta, toss with the tomato sauce and serve as your first course. The stuffed cucuzza will be your second course along with a green salad and you have a complete meal!
Ingredient List
- Cucuzza: which you may also find labeled as opo squash. I purchased 2 approximately 12 inch long cucuzzas
- Fresh breadcrumbs: crumb from day old bread, crusts removed
- Ground meat: beef, veal or pork or a combination of any of these varieties.
- Grated Pecorino Romano cheese: or Parmigiano if you prefer
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh parsley
- Milk: for soaking the breadcrumbs. May be replaced with water.
- Eggs
- Onion: for the sauce
- Tomato passata: tomato purée which I purchase in jars
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the stuffing
- Place the fresh breadcrumbs in a bowl, pour milk over them and toss to soak. Let sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Place all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs soaked in milk. Use your hands to combine all ingredients well. Refrigerate while you prepare the cucuzza.
How to cut cucuzza
- Trim off both ends of the cucuzza and use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer skin.
- Cut into approximately 3 inch lengths
- Use a pairing knife and spoon to cut and scoop out the soft, spongy center of the squash where the seeds are located.
Stuff the cucuzza
- Stuff the hollowed cucuzza pieces with the meatball filling. Do not over stuff the cucuzza or the filling will come out while they are simmering.
- Depending on the size of cucuzza, you may have extra filling. Shape into meatballs and brown them in the pan in the next step before adding to the sauce.
To cook
- Coat the bottom of a large Dutch oven or wide deep skillet generously with olive oil.
- Over medium heat, brown both ends of the cucuzza until golden, about 3 minutes per side.
- Cook in batches if necessary, do not overcrowd the pan.
- Once browned, transfer the cucuzza to a plate while you prepare the sauce.
- Sauté the minced onion and garlic in the remaining oil in the pan.
- Pour in the tomato purée. Add about 2 cups of water to the jar that contained the tomatoes, swirl it around to gather any excess tomato purée and add to the pan.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Nestle the cucuzza pieces in the sauce, they do not need to be fully submerged in the sauce.
- Simmer loosely covered for 2 hours, until the cucuzza is tender. After 1 hour, flip the cucuzza pieces to ensure even cooking. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
- You're now ready to boil some pasta and enjoy your cucuzza meal!
Recipe Notes
-For a vegetarian version fill the cucuzza with my mom's meatless meatball mixture.
-If you don't have access to cucuzza, stuff other vegetables such as eggplant and peppers as posted in this recipe.
-Ground chicken or turkey may be used in place of traditional beef, veal or pork.
-Enjoy the cucuzza as a main course along with a salad.
-Boil pasta of your choice and toss with the tomato sauce.
Keep lefovers refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Yes it can! Freeze the cucuzza along with the tomato sauce in a freezer safe container. Defrost over low heat in a large sauce pan until heated through.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
*****
Check out these Italian stuffed vegetable recipes!
- Stuffed Eggplant and Peppers in Tomato Sauce
- Stuffed Baby Eggplant
- Italian Stuffed Peppers with Meat and Rice
- Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers with Breadcrumbs
- Baked Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
- Italian Stewed Stuffed Artichokes
Ingredients
- 2 kg cucuzza squash or 2 smaller squash
For the meatball stuffing
- 500 grams ground meat beef, veal or pork or a combination of ground meats
- 3 cups fresh breadcrumbs from day old bread, crusts removed
- 1 cup milk may be replaced with water
- 1¼ cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated, or Parmigiano cheese
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
For the sauce
- ¼ cup olive oil for browning the stuffed cucuzza
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 690 ml tomato passata tomato purée
- red pepper flakes optional
- fresh basil optional
- salt to taste
Instructions
Prepare the meatball filling
- Place the fresh breadcrumbs in a bowl, pour milk over them and toss to soak. Let sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Place all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs soaked in milk. Use your hands to combine all ingredients well. Refrigerate while you prepare the cucuzza.
Prepare the cucuzza
- Trim off both ends of the cucuzza and use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer skin.
- Cut into approximately 3 inch lengths. Use a pairing knife and spoon to cut and scoop out the soft center of the squash where the seeds are located.
Stuff the cucuzza
- Stuff the hollowed cucuzza pieces with the meatball filling. Do not over stuff the cucuzza or the filling will come out while they are simmering.
- Depending on the size of cucuzza, you may have extra filling. Shape into meatballs and brown them in the pan in the next step before adding to the sauce.
To cook
- Coat the bottom of a large Dutch oven or wide deep skillet with olive oil.
- Over medium heat, brown both ends of the cucuzza until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Cook in batches if necessary, do not overcrowd the pan.
- Once browned, transfer the cucuzza to a plate while you prepare the sauce.
- Sauté the minced onion, garlic and red pepper flakes (optional) in the remaining oil in the pan.
- Pour in the tomato purée and fresh basil leaves. Add about 2 cups of water to the jar or can that contained the tomatoes, swirl it around to gather any excess tomato purée and add to the pan.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Nestle the cucuzza pieces in the sauce, they do not need to be fully submerged in the sauce.
- Simmer loosely covered for 2 hours, until the cucuzza is tender. After 1 hour, flip the cucuzza pieces to ensure even cooking. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
- You are now ready to boil your favorite pasta and enjoy this cucuzza meal!
Notes
-If you don't have access to cucuzza, stuff other vegetables such as eggplant and peppers as posted in this recipe.
-Ground chicken or turkey may be used in place of traditional beef, veal or pork. To Serve -Enjoy the cucuzza as a main course along with a salad.
-Boil pasta of your choice and toss with the tomato sauce. Storage Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. To Freeze Yes it can! Freeze the cucuzza along with the tomato sauce in a freezer safe container. Defrost over low heat in a large sauce pan until heated through.
Anna Bucciarelli
Dearest Nadia - this is exactly how my family does stuffed zucchini ... in fact, we often let the zucchini grow large enough so that one can be split down the middle (peeled or not), seeds and soft spots removed, stuffed with the meat mixture you describe, and baked ... learned from mama, my siblings and I have done it for years and often cannot wait for our gardens to produce large zucchini just so we can stuff and bake it. ...one large one will generously feed my family of 5. Great recipe Nadia - as always, keep up your good work and thanks for sharing.
Nadia
Hi Anna, I am curious about the method you use, that is splitting them down the middle and baking them instead of simmering in sauce. Will try this out one day, thank you for sharing!
FRANK M.
As mentioned in your recipe, just boil some pasta and it's meal!
Nadia
Thanks Frank, the best meal indeed!