Zucchini Rollatini
*serves 4 as a main dish

At every catered event in the scope of my childhood — First Holy Communions, Confirmation parties, baby showers, bridal showers and, yes, even cocktail hours at weddings — there were trays, stacked on trays, of eggplant rollatini. Why? I don’t really know, but we’re Italian and I can only surmise that our love for cheesy dishes slathered in sauce runs deep, deep like a bottomless aluminum tray filled to the brim with hot food. I can recall my brother Louis and I having in depth conversations, as kids, about whether or not there would be eggplant rollatini at a family party or on a menu — and doing the same as adults. We don’t talk much, but we do talk about food and, I guess, that’s something.

As much as I LOVE eggplant rollatini, zucchini is having it’s day in season. It’s the summer and I’ve been playing with a lot of zucchini’s in the kitchen. Hm, that almost sounds naughty, I’ll leave out any other commentary about living in my parents house and sleeping in a twin bed right now as a 45 year old perimenopausal woman — back to zucchini. But the zucchini is a super vegetable for its ability to transform into anything from a pasta adornment, to a side that can be matched to any flavor profile and into a main dish — I’m looking at you, rollatini. And stuffed zucchini boats, you too, but I have to write about you next — you got bumped by this little recipe.

So, grab your peelers, your memory box of catered events in Brooklyn (if you have them), call your brother Louie (or older pain in the ass brother if you have one of those) and share these for a family meal night — or, honestly, hoard them. EAT THEM ALL YOURSELF if you’re living single and apartment dwelling on the solo tip. Either way, cook. Cook your heart out for one or for family.

Cheese really does make everything better. Hot cheese. With sauce. And zucchini. Even better.

First things first, you’ll want to wash/rinse your zucchini and pat it dry — then the slicing begins. You can use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to slice the zucchini lengthwise into long noodle like strips. Place the strips on a roasting tray lined with paper towels. It’s ok if the slices overlap. Cover each layer with paper towels and repeat. Why do we do this? Zucchinis contain A LOT OF WATER and we don’t want super mushy rollatini. Don’t skip this step to save time. Prep can be done up to a day before if you need to. Let the zucchini strips “dry out” for at least 60-90 minutes.

Now, depending upon the brand of ricotta you purchase, you’ll want that to be “strained” as well. Ricotta can also be watery. I’m sure you’ve noticed that after you open a container of ricotta, use some (same with yogurt) then put it back in the fridge and go to open it the next day — there’s a little pool of water on top. And because zucchini is a high water containing veggie and ricotta is a water containing cheese, you’ll want to line a colander with a piece of paper towel and let the ricotta sit on it for 30 minutes to an hour. I use Galbani brand ricotta which is not very wet, neither is Polly-O and when you opt for the full fat options and low moisture skim you’ll be less likely to encounter an abundance of water straining. With the Galbani I put it in the colander and just pat it dry. Choose your ricotta wisely. Let it strain and while that’s happening and the zucchini are drying out, begin chopping your garlic, parsley and getting your grated cheese ready for seasoning the rollatini filling.

Once the filling has been made and the zucchini have dried, it’s time to layer and roll, this is the fun part — you know, aside from eating!

Stagger the zucchini slices as shown above or layer 4 strips vertically, place a tablespoon or two of filling in the middle. Be sure to not overfill — that cheese is precious and you want the filling to stay mostly inside of the roll, not burst out while it’s cooking. Fold one side of the zucchini over and then roll to the other side until it’s closed and “sealed".

Repeat the above until all of the filling and zucchini strips have been used. Honestly, I had more zucchini strips than filling, so for the last four rollatini, I took a mini heap of mozzarella, pecorino romano, parsley, a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder and rolled them — sans ricotta. They were delicious.

Prep a casserole dish and coat the bottom with marinara sauce. If you’re like me, you always have it in the freezer or if making sauce isn’t you’re thing, the only store brand I recommend using is Rao’s.
Place the zucchini rollatini in the casserole dish, packing them tightly, I find that this helps them stay in tact during the cooking process.

Spoon sauce over the top of the zucchini rollatini and sprinkle with grated cheese, mozzarella and parsley. Transfer to the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubblin’ and the sauce is too.

Let the zucchini rollatini rest for 5-10 minutes once they’re removed from the oven. Use a spatula to remove them from the casserole dish and serve with a salad (we found them filling), alongside meatballs — if you’d like some extra protein, or with a nice piece or hot bread to sop up all of that sauce and cheese. Serving with pasta and a light red sauce is also an option.

Zucchini Rollatini
*serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients for the red sauce
1 batch of simple red sauce, prepared ahead of time or if you’re using store bought sauce, I recommend Rao’s marinara
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes *NO SEASONING, I like Cento and Scalfani, personally
5 tablespoons of salted butter
2 medium onions, cut in half
Pinch of salt
Handful of fresh basil

Ingredients for the zucchini rollatini
3 medium sized zucchini, washed, peeled, and peels set aside to dry on paper towels
1 x 16 oz. container of whole milk ricotta, placed in a colander with paper towel, and strained of any water
1/2 cup of freshly chopped parsley
3 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 large egg
1 cup of shredded low moisture mozzarella, divided
3/4 cup of grated pecorino romano cheese, divided
1 teaspoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions for marinara sauce
—Add onions, crushed tomatoes and butter to a deep pan or pot and place over medium low flame allowing to simmer
—Lower heat as low as you can go, cover and cook for 60 minutes, keeping an eye and stirring occasionally
—Add salt and basil
—Remove from the flame and allow rost
—This is a great make ahead sauce and one for the freezer files too

Instructions for the zucchini rollatini
—Line a colander with a piece of paper towel and let the ricotta drain for 30 minutes to an hour
—Use a vegetable peeler or a mandolin to slice the zucchini lengthwise into long noodle like strips
—Place the strips on a roasting tray lined with paper towels — strips can overlap
—Cover each layer with paper towels and repeat until all zucchini have been made into strips
—Allow to rest/dry out for one hour to 90 minutes
—Place the draine ricotta in a medium sized bowl and add garlic, half of the parsley, half of the mozzarella cheese, half of the pecorino romano and one egg
—Mix the above well until the filling is formed; add a dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper and put aside
—Stagger the zucchini slices as shown above or layer 4 strips vertically, place a tablespoon or two of filling in the middle — be sure to not overfill
—Fold one side of the zucchini over and then roll to the other side until it’s closed and “sealed"
—Prep a casserole dish and coat the bottom with marinara sauce
—Place the zucchini rollatini in the casserole dish, packing them tightly, I find that this helps them stay in tact during the cooking process
—Spoon sauce over the top of the zucchini rollatini and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, mozzarella and parsley
—Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubblin’ and the sauce is too
—Allow to rest for 10 minutes once removed from the oven
—Serve hot with a salad, bread, a side of pasta, meatballs or protein of choice