Buenos Aires – Face it, you’re stuck learning Spanish vocabulary with me. The Zapallito Redondo is a “summer squash”, i.e., zucchini, but in globe shape. It’s native to the southern part of South America. You can find “regular” zucchini, but they’re not near as common. The redondo is a bit more dense and a touch sweeter. When cut open, as you can see, it has a fascinating shamrock pattern to the flesh and seeds.
The Zapallito Redondo can be used pretty much in any way that other zucchini or summer squashes can. One of the simplest recipes is Milanesas de Zapallito. Milanesas are very common in Argentinian cuisines – most meats, even fish, are commonly made this way. It’s based on a classic Italian milanese, essentially lightly breaded and pan-fried. It differs somewhat in that it’s typically served nude, i.e., with no sauces or condiments. Also, like much of the food here, they tend to be cooked until it’s difficult to tell that the meat was once part of a living organism.
My take on Milanesas de Zapallito is quite easy to prepare. Slice the squash into rounds roughly 1/4″ thick. Beat an egg or two in a bowl. Mix plain bread crumbs with salt, white pepper, and what is locally called provensal, which is a readily available and very commonly used (here) blend of dried garlic and parsley. Dip the rounds into the egg, then into the crumbs. Sauté in a blend of olive oil and butter. Drain and eat while hot!
Opened up a bottle of Viñas de Balbo Torrontés, no vintage listed on the bottle. Dry, crisp, with flavors of fresh pears, light citrus, and a touch of wildflowers. I’m assuming that Viñas de Balbo is related in some manner to the famous Susana Balbo wines, though I’ve been unable to access their website. Torrontés, by the way, is a white grape that has become “the” white grape of Argentina. A small amount is also grown in Chile, but its origins are, like many wine grapes, in Europe. In particular, Torrontés was one of the original Madeira grapes, though most of the plantings were lost in a volcano explosion many moons ago.
[…] Zucchini (US, Australian, and Canadian English) or courgette (New Zealand and British English) is a small summer marrow or squash, also commonly called Italian squash. Its Latin name is Cucurbita pepo. It can either be yellow or green and generally has a similar shape to a ridged cucumber, though a few cultivars are available that produce round or bottle-shaped fruit. Unlike the cucumber it is usually served cooked, often steamed or grilled. Its flower can be eaten fried or stuffed. Zucchini is commonly thought of as a vegetable, and in layman’s parlance, of course, this is more useful; however by strict definition the zucchini is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. […]
One of the vegetables I most miss whenever I leave BsAs is the zapallito redondo. I prefer it to zuchinni and squash. When I’m broiling a steak on the bottom part of the typical gas oven here, I always include a few halved zapallitos and potatoes drizzled with a bit of oil, salt, black pepper and provensal in the upper (main) part of the oven. The veggies bake while the steak broils. It’s simple and really quite tasty.
I want to buy seems of zapallitos redondos
yo quiero compra las semillas de los zapallitos redondos
I guess it would depend where you live – the seeds are certainly available here in Buenos Aires at various plant stores – or, of course, within the zapallitos redondos themselves. If you’re not located here, you might try a resource like Jim Johnson at Seedman.
hola Dan, encontraste los semillas? Yo también quiero comprar. Otro dijo que se puede entra paquetes comerciales a Australia de Argentina
. Eddie Orrego
Eddie – en Argentina, donde vivo, están disponibles en varios lugares que venden semillas. En otros paises, ni idea personalmente – pero si miras los comentarios, otros lectores ofrecieron muchos enlaces.
This delectable, little squash has found its way to Conyers and Smyrna (both suburbs of Atlanta), GA via my stepmother who was born in Uruguay. She regularly returns to S.A. to visit friends and family in both Uruguay and Argentina. Longing to eat her favorite squash back home in the US, she brought some seeds with her. The squash grow well here. Since my friends in Smyrna have planted many plants, I am sure that their popularity in this region will grow as they share them with their friends and relatives.
Graciela, If you didn’t find any seeds, we can send you some.
I need some seeds of zapallito de tronco pls, josembarrera69 hot maiI
Sabina, Tell your stepmom that my mom and I live in Marietta, GA and we too plant the zapallitos. My mom bought seeds in Argentina last time we were there. We used to live in Uruguay as well. Luckily we are able to buy Yerba Mate in the US. If your stepmom wants to get together for garden talk or to drink some mate, send me an email madd03@hotmail.com
We too can send Graciela some zapallito seeds.
Where is zapallito origin from?
I see them throughout South and Central America, and as most squashes originated in “Meso-America” and were exported from there, my guess is, and it is only a guess, that they’re originally from this part of the world, perhaps further north than Argentina at the outset.
[…] public links >> redondos Comment on Zapallitos Redondos by dan Saved by socalster on Wed 17-12-2008 Hoy no escribo Saved by KillingMySoul on Sat 06-12-2008 […]
[…] We’ve all seen, and eaten, more milanesas here than we care to think about, let alone admit to. I’m perfectly happy at many a lunch to have a pounded thin chicken version – breaded breast of chicken, topped with cheese and tomato, but I do long for something more – and also something that leaves the chicken juicy and flavorful rather than flat and leathery. So I left the breasts whole, cut a pocket into each and filled it with a mix of cremini duxelles (sauteed finely chopped mushrooms and shallots) and yellow bell pepper. Then, each breast got itself dipped in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, then into beaten egg, and finally rolled in a mix of breadcrumbs, hot paprika, and a Chinese spice mixture of black pepper, cinnamon, salt, and m.s.g. Rather than fry these, I baked them in the oven drizzled with a little olive oil, and served them up with some sauteed globe zucchini. […]
I want to have some zapallito seed how I can have some
Seeds for the zapallitos, where can I get them, please. Thanks.
I suppose that depends where you live, to begin with, but honestly, I have no idea. Here, I’d just buy one and take the seeds out of it. You might try something as simple as a google search for where you live – I did one without a geographical location on “globe zucchini seeds” and it popped up with over 65,000 hits…
I wanted to buy the seeds for the zapallitos. Can you help me, please? Thank you
Monique – see my comment in response to the same request a couple above….
[…] than zucchini. I put them in pasta sauce often, and I’m looking forward to making breaded milanesas de zapallito I saw on Dan Perlman’s site. What would you do if you got your hands on some zapallitos […]
HI I am a native from Argentina and now live in Boston, MA I have brought back zapallito seeds with me and are happy to say that last year we ate zappalitos rellenos, tortillas de zapallitos, and all other great delicous recipies that i have come up with. I also found in my local garden shop some “eight ball” italian squash that are “similar to the argentine variety, but are really a round zucchini…..you can alswys try them out.
Burpee also has 2-3 varieties of ROUND zucchini squash.
Hope it helps!
GRACIELA: Las semillas de zapallitos las traje de Bs.As.Vivo en N.Y. y los planto hace tres anos con gran exito.La fecha del plantio mejor es a mediados de Mayo.No abandones la idea de saborearlos ,son deliciosos y te ayudaran cuando anores nuestros pagos. Suerte.
No doubt”zapallitos criollos” are the tastiest , all foreigners who happened to taste them become crazy with them.
The best and most famous recipe “zapallitos rellenos”, “stuffed zapallito” you can fill them with their own fill adding onions , cheese, bread imbedded in milk and white sauce on top, or you can fill them with whatever you like…they will always be delicious.
I live in Houston, Texas and would like to know where I can but zapallitos.
If you guys want to buy seeds for these zapallitos, this web site sells them: http://newworldcrops.com/wp/shop/squash/
They are the crops that are being grown in Argentina and were developed by the INTA. The full name is “Zapallito Redondo de Tronco Pilar”. If you want a full description of the seeds look here (it’s in spanish):
http://www.guasch.com.ar/variedadesCaractN.php?idVariedad=182&idSolapa=27&Nivel=SubDivisiones&pos=24
I want to clarify that I am in no way affiliated to any of these web sites or companies, I just love these zapallitos and wanted to share the information with you. Enjoy!!!
Lola, Thanks for that – I know quite a few people from outside of Argentina have asked about the seeds since I wrote that post.
Happy to help 🙂
traje semillas de la Argentina y las plante aqui en el Cape dan flores pero no zapallitos.
Gracias Juliana Stamatis
Hola juliana stamatis los zapallitos tienen flores hembra y flores macho si los insectos no los fecundan las flores hembras que tienen los zapallitos se secan. Lo que tenes que hacer es fecundar las flores hembras introduciendo un pincel en las flores machos y despues introducirlo en las flores hembra, así lograrás la fecundación. Suerte
[…] vegetarian version, using a thick slice (basically half) of a globe zucchini, or zapallito redondo – now that’s something fun to do with those. I’ll be preparing zapallitos that […]
Hola,yo tambien plante semillas de Argentina y tuve muchas flores, pero no zapallitos, aca lei que uno las puede fecundar pero como se’ cual es la flor hembra y cual es la macho? te agracesco de antemano tu ayuda. Mi zona es New Jersey tendria que plantar a mediados de Mayo. Gracias Beatriz
hola, quiciera consegir, semillas de zapallitos,es por salud,muchas gracias , no se como hacer.
Si querés para crecerlos, vas a una tienda que vende semillas para jardines; si para comerlos, vas a una dietetica, casí siempre tienen.
Graciela,mucho te agradeceria que me digas como reconocer la flor Macho de la de hembra para hacer el proceso que vos mencionas,yo traje semilla de la Argentina la plante y salio una planta hermosa con muchas hojas da cantidad de flores pero solo me dio 3 zapallitos uno crecio normal y los otros dos nunca crecieron hasta que se pudrieron,me temo que necesitan mucho sol la panta tiene ojas gigantes y cubren todo y el sol no penetra bien queria cortarle las ojas que me sugieres si las corto le afecta a la planta por favor contestame estamos deceoso de comer zapallitos vivo en New Jersey gracias
[…] and plum empanadas, grilled some steaks with a little onion relish, made chimichurri, and some zapallitos rellenos. All, of course, […]
I grow my own zapallitos de tronco here in Michigan (Berrien County) and am very successful.
yo vivo en israel yplante zapallitos redondo de argentina.quisiera saber como saco y seco y mantengo las semillas para despues plantarlas. gracias
Saca las semillas y dejan sobre unas hojas de papel de cocina en el sól para secarlas. Después, guardarlas envuelto en el papel en un sobre hasta la temporada para plantarlas.
Boris. Los zapallitos para comerlos los recolectas tiernos pero para guardar las semillas (asi como bien dice Dan) acordate que tenes que dejar uno o dos que crezcan full en la planta.
[…] they’re not part of their own culture. I’ve done a few ingredient posts before – zapallitos redondos, those round green squashes that you see everywhere in vegetable markets was one of the first. But […]
Ohhh como los extraño !!!! Zapallitos relleno ,vivo en Australia y no los puedo encontrar
Si alguien sabe me avisa.
Gracias y cuidensen.
Pregunta para “green globe zucchini”. Existen en Australia, mi hermano les compra a veces.
[…] or sometimes globe squash or eight-ball squash. I’ve talked about them before, and even did a brief look at them during the first month I lived here (in fact, this photo is from then). We’re going to stuff […]
Where can I get zapallitos seeds? Anyone I will buy from you. I’m in Southern California and can’t find zapallitos
I can’t speak for quality or reliability, but there are lots of places selling the seeds in the US. Search for “eight ball zucchini seeds” or “globe zucchini seeds”.
A bunch of examples just doing a search from here:
https://www.westcoastseeds.com/products/eight-ball
https://www.superseeds.com/products/eightball-zucchini-f1-hybrid-35-days
https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Squash-Zucchini-Hybrid-Seeds/dp/B07MHGL81K/
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/squash/summer-squash/eight-ball-f1-squash-seed-2624.html
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/00820-squash-eight-ball-f1?variant=35441428627528
https://parkseed.com/eight-ball-hybrid-squash-seeds/p/05678-PK-P1/