ZUCCHINI ROLLATINI

This cheesy, Zucchini Rollatini is a delicious, veggie-loaded dish! Made with strips of grilled zucchini stuffed with a basil-cheese filling, then rolled and topped with marinara, mozzarella and baked in the oven until the cheese is hot and melted.

The inspiration for this dish came from my eggplant rollatini, one of my favorite summer meals. I modified that recipe a bit, keeping the cheese filling pretty simple and swapping the eggplant for zucchini. I looked for two large zucchinis, that were pretty thick so that the rolls would be large enough to make a meal and sliced them with my mandolin (affiliate link) so they are all the same thickness.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large (14 oz each) zucchini, cut lengthwise into 12 (1/4-inch thick) slices
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup quick marinara sauce
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (I like Polly-O)
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup (3 oz) shredded mozzarella (I like Polly-O)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread 1/4 cup marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Cut the zucchini lengthwise, into 1/4-inch thick slices until you have a total of 12 slices about the same size. It’s easiest to do this with a mandolin. My mandolin is from OXO.
3. Season both sides of the zucchini with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, then grill on a grill pan over high heat to help dry out the zucchini, until pliable and grill marks form, but not fully cooked, about 2 minutes on each side.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the egg then mix together with ricotta, Pecorino Romano, basil, garlic, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
5. Spread the ricotta mixture (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each) evenly onto each zucchini slice, spreading to cover.
6. Roll up slices and arrange them each seam side down in the prepared dish.  Top each with 1 tbsp marinara sauce and 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese and tightly cover with foil.
7. Bake 20 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and melted.

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