• 4 firm zucchini (5 to 6 ounces each)
• 1 medium onion (2 ounces), finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled, finely chopped
• Salt
• 1 large ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• ⅓ cup long-grain rice, parboiled 18 minutes, rinsed, and well drained
• Pepper
• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 thick slices (2 ounces) stale bread, crusts removed, soaked in warm water, well squeezed, and chopped
• About ¼ cup olive oil

Trim the ends of the zucchini, split each in half lengthwise, and, using a vegetable ball-cutting spoon, remove the flesh from each half, leaving a wall of about ¼-inch thickness. Chop the zucchini flesh.

Cook the onion gently in oil without coloring for about 15 minutes, add the chopped zucchini, garlic, and salt and continue cooking over a slightly higher flame, tossing regularly, for another 10 minutes, then add the tomato and count another 10 minutes, tossing or stirring occasionally, for excess liquid to disappear. Mix with the parsley and rice, taste for salt, grind in pepper to taste, and stir in half of the Parmesan.

Rub the zucchini shells inside and out with olive oil and fit them into a lightly oiled gratin dish just large enough to contain them, forcing them gently if necessary. Spoon the filling into them with a teaspoon, spreading it, forming it, and mounding it with your fingers. Spread a layer of chopped soaked bread over the entire surface, pressing it gently into place, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, dribble olive oil regularly over the surface, and bake in a 400° oven for about 45 minutes or until the flesh of the zucchini shells is tender, lending no resistance to the point of a sharp knife, and a uniformly crisp and colored crust has formed on the surface.