I have to say that zucchini is the queen of summer vegetables and everyone loves to grow them in the garden. Zucchini is easy to grow, any beginner can handle it and the flowers look simply beautiful! Maybe that's why people often wonder what to do with the huge harvest!
You know, the average zucchini can sometimes grow to gigantic size just overnight.
But if you can, don't let the zucchini grow any longer than necessary and pick them rather earlier. You can then cook something delicious with them, like these zucchini rolls with a delicate filling!
I love baked zucchini roll ups!... especially because they are so easy to make. This is a great summer easy meal that uses not only zucchini but also tomatoes from the garden because, let's face it, we have plenty of those in our gardens too! The vegetables just need half an hour in the oven and you have a great summer light lunch or dinner , which is perfect especially when served with a crusty baguette and a glass of good white wine.
In this recipe I keep the roll ups completely VEGETARIAN and fill them with lovely Ricotta flavored with lemon and parmesan cheese. However, I remember the roll ups from my childhood a little differently. Because this is my mom's recipe! And it's one of the few recipes I've learned from her (thanks mom!).
However, her zucchini roll ups were filled only with bacon and cheese! But what a daughter would I be if I didn't modify the recipe a bit, right? Anyway, the process remains the same and the possibilities for filling the roll ups are countless! Maybe I'll tempt you to some of the other variations:
- Versatile ricotta filling - The ricotta filling is quick, impressive, full of flavor and can satisfy not only vegetarians. You can flavor it with lemon like I did or try adding fresh basil, pepper, crushed garlic or chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- With melty cheese - Who doesn't love cheese?! Be sure to roll thin slices of cheese into the roll ups. The best cheese is one that melts well and is at least 45% fat. You can also try a combination of cheeses such as blue cheese with gouda, cheddar or goat cheese. And how about adding finely chopped cranberries to goat cheese?!
- Healthy cottage cheese - Similar to ricotta cheese, cottage cheese works really well too as a filling! Mix it with chopped Italian salami or steamed spinach to add some more flavor.
- With Bolognese sauce - The versatile Bolognese sauce can be used almost anywhere, even in these zucchini roll ups! It is great to work with already cooled sauce or her thicker version. Basically any kind of ragout will work great as a filling here. :))
- With creamy mushrooms - An unusual filling can also be buttered sautéed mushrooms with thyme mixed with a few tablespoons of sweet or sour cream!
- Curried quinoa - Quinoa with curry seasoning is an unusual combination with great flavor. Quinoa works surprisingly well as a filling, and not just for these rolls! Spice it up with your favorite curry blend and add sautéed vegetables that you have on hand (carrots, potatoes, onions, cauliflower,...) You can also add small legumes like red lentils or mashed chickpeas for more protein!
- In Greek style - Feta cheese is simply a chapter of its own! It's great sliced in the filling, but can also be combined with milder cheeses. Use it mixed with spinach, or add sundried tomatoes, olives, dried oregano and you have a dish worthy of the Greek gods!
So now you know what I'm talking about? I bet you'll want to cook zucchini roll ups all zucchini season!
Are you interested in vegetable meals? Try some of my other favorite vegetarian recipes!
- like these fragrant baked Dauphinoise potatoes with oyster mushrooms
- Do you have any Parmesan cheese left over from the recipe? Use it for these quick beans on toast with rosemary and garlic
- Also definitely worth a try is this cauliflower in tomato sauce with delicious spices , aka my all-time favorite cauliflower dish!
- And if you feel like warming up with a wonderful soup on a gloomy day, this creamy pumpkin soup with red lentils will do the trick .
Are zucchini healthy?
If we are all so passionate about growing zucchini and then trying to get them into "anything" just to get rid of them, are they even healthy? Zucchini is a very diet-friendly and healthy vegetable because it contains mostly water (similar to watermelon). But they also contain health benefiting compounds such as carotene, potassium and also like any vegetable, they contain very important fiber!
Which zucchini are best for rolls?
Classic green, medium-sized zucchini works best for these roll ups. Young, smaller zucchini are beautifully tender, but the rolls would be too small. Zucchini, that are green in color, have the best ratio of flesh to inner seeded parts.
However, even overgrown zucchini can be used wonderfully for these roll ups and that was the reason my mom made this dish for us! Just remove the seed part of the overgrown zucchini beforehand and slice the rest of the flesh. The rolls may come out a little smaller afterwards but the recipe works great with them!
How to make zucchini roll ups with lemon ricotta filling?
In order to turn the zucchini into shapeable, fragrant slices, we must first slice and fry them! So cut the zucchini lengthwise into slices to make them as long as possible. You should end up with about 10 slices, and that's counting the edges.
In a small bowl, mix a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with the Provençal herbs. Brush each slice of zucchini with this mixture, season with salt and pepper and fry.
There are several ways of frying zucchini:
- my favorite is using a Panini grill, which I like to protect with baking paper - so I don't have too much to clean up!
- you can also fry them in batches in a frying pan with a little olive oil - but in that case, use the biggest pan you have available
- an easy way is also to arrange the zucchini slices in one layer on a baking tray, brush with oil and bake in the oven "under the grill"
While the zucchini is frying, prepare the filling. Mix ricotta, Parmesan, finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Spread each slice of zucchini with about 1-2 tbsp of filling, roll up and place in a baking dish. This makes 9-10 rolls. If you still have filling left over, you can layer it on top of the rolls and add more parmesan cheese on top.
Cut the tomatoes into larger pieces and place around the rolls. Canned chopped tomatoes can also be used out of season.
You can add more flavor by seasoning the tomatoes!
As a seasoning I like to use homemade tomato pesto, BBQ sauce or tomato-onion chutney!
It's great to have some of these sauces on hand at all times for quick seasoning not only zucchini rolls, but I regularly use them to season meats, sandwiches and to make quick dips!
Bake the zucchini roll ups in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 20-25 minutes. Serve hot and with a piece of freshly baked bread.
TIPS:
– These roll ups are also great made with aubergines instead of zucchini, aubergines that are oblong like zucchini are particularly good for this!
- you can make the whole dish ahead of time - just place the roll ups in a baking dish, add the tomatoes, cover with aluminum foil and keep in the fridge before baking
- In order to make a vegetable dish full of flavor, you need to add enough oil as a carrier of flavor and also season the dish enough, otherwise it might taste bland!
Recipe
Recipe - 4 servings
Zucchini roll ups with lemon ricotta filling
Ingredients:
- 2 medium zucchini
- approx. 250 g of tomatoes or 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- olive oil
- mixture of Provençal herbs
for filling:
- 250 g ricotta cheese
- zest and juice of 0,5 lemon
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Cut the zucchini lengthwise into slices (approximately 9-10 slices).
- In a small bowl, mix a few tablespoons of olive oil with the Provençal herbs. Brush each slice of zucchini with this mixture, season with salt and pepper and grill or fry in a pan. I like to use a panini grill with baking paper for grilling.
- For the filling, mix ricotta, parmesan, zest and juice of half a lemon, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Spread each slice with about 1-2 tbsp of filling, roll up and place in a baking dish. This makes 9-10 rolls. If you still have filling left over, you can layer it on top of the rolls and add more parmesan cheese.
- Cut the tomatoes into larger pieces and place around the rolls. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for about 20-25 minutes.
- Serve hot and with a piece of freshly baked bread.
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