Bison Stuffed Zucchini

serves 2

2 large zucchinis
1 lb ground bison/buffalo (ground beef will work too, but you want a very lean meat…otherwise it will give off too much liquid and your zucchinis will be swimming)
1/2 a large onion, minced
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of oregano
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 T tomato paste (optional)
1/2 cup chopped olives or olive tapenade (I used tapenade from Trader Joe’s)
1 egg
coconut oil

Cut the zucchinis in half longways. Scoop out the insides to form a large trough in each zucchini.

Heat coconut oil in a skillet and saute the onion and the scraped out zucchini insides. Caramelize it and make sure all the water cooks out. Remove the zucchini/onion mixture to a large bowl.

Add the meat to the skillet and brown, along with some salt and pepper to taste, the cayenne, and the oregano. Drain it if there’s a lot of liquid after the meat is done cooking. Add the tomato sauce and paste and stir to combine.

Add the meat/tomato mixture to the bowl with the onion/zucchini mixture, along with the olives. Mix well and make sure it’s slightly cool. Beat the egg and mix it in.

Mound each zucchini half with the mixture and put in a large baking dish with a little water on the bottom. Bake at 400 for 40 min. You can make the filling and stuff the zucchinis in advance and hold them covered in the fridge until it’s time to bake them.