Zucchini has an American origin. Today, It is cultivated with ease in India because it is a warm-season crop. In fact, today farmers are growing zucchini with more keenness because it sells at a better price point. Zucchini is also called squash, courgettes and is available in several shapes and colours like yellow and dark green /light green with specks or no specks.
In a typical Punjabi house, parents call it angrejo wali sabzi. And most of the moms are not comfortable buying it at a higher price. But soon you will see, zucchini at regular price and we will get comfortable using it like most of the vegetables at home. Like many other vegetables, zucchini is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. You can cook it several ways and turns out quite delicious.
This zucchini roll lasagna is a tasteful, comforting savoury bake. Moreover, it is lasagna without pasta. Which is very welcoming for many people who are following a healthy lifestyle.
This recipe is easy to attain and kids love it because it looks fancy and modish. Quite a dish that your teenager would post on the Instagram page.
There are a few points I would like to share with you for an easy understanding of the recipe. Just go through them before you start to make Zucchini Roll lasagna at home.
I have used only one zucchini, which was a hefty piece. If you have a smaller piece, go ahead with two or more. The recipe is quite forgiving in terms of the measurement of ingredients. You will have to rely on your taste buds more than the quantities mentioned in the recipe below.
Just taste and be the best judge to balance everything.
You can easily double or triple the recipe according to the need/number of people you want to cater to.
Cut the thin slices of zucchini. Make sure not very thin or very bulky. See the video for reference.
Sprinkle with some oil, salt and pepper and slightly cook. Make sure not to overcook. We just want to soften the zucchini, so it gets easy to roll.
I have used blanched spinach and ricotta to make a roll. Which is a classic comforting flavour combo.
How to blanch spinach
Add water to a wide pan. Let it come to a boil. Add spinach leaves. With the help of a slotted spoon, immerse them completely in water. Cook for 1 minute. Remove the leaves in a strainer. Immediately soak the leaves in a bowl of ice-cold water for 1 minute.
How to make fresh ricotta at home
You don’t have to buy ricotta from the supermarket. It’s easy to make at home.
Click here and see the video – YouTube shots https://youtu.be/9Asd1pZjOzo
You can use readymade pasta sauce for this recipe or can make pasta sauce at home. I am a big fan of homemade pasta sauce. And I have two amazing recipes for you for pasta sauces. One can be made in under five minutes and another one is a recipe from scratch.
Click here and see How to make pizza sauce at home
You will see a quick cheese sauce recipe in the video below. It is a quick method where you melt butter, mozzarella, milk, cream, garlic clove and salt together in a microwave. You might find it tricky to accomplish a smooth silky cheese sauce in a microwave.
Follow the tip: Heat for 10 seconds and give it a stir. Heat again for 10 seconds and stir. Keep repeating the method till you get a smooth sauce. Don’t overheat or the sauce might split. After two or three heats, you will have to stir more to bring the sauce together. It’s a quick process, but you can’t walk away when heating the sauce in the microwave.
This is the microwave convection, that I have been using for along at home. This zucchini roll lasagna is baked in my microwave.
If you feel uncomfortable with the procedure, use a double boiler method or heat all the ingredients together in a thick bottom pan over low heat. Be sure not to overheat, turn off the gas at regular intervals when it starts to overheat.
You can even blend the prepared sauce in a mixer for a smoother consistency.
This is the baking dish I have used in this recipe.
You can sprinkle extra cheese on the top before baking or simply skip that. You can also add bread crumbs on the top before baking to make a crunchy texture to the top of Zucchini Roll lasagna
Zucchini Roll Lasagna
Equipment
- OTG
- Griller
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 1 big zucchini
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4th tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4th cup blanched spinach
- 1/4th cup fresh ricotta https://youtu.be/9Asd1pZjOzo
- 1/2 cup pasta sauce https://amzn.to/3CVCnPQ
Quick cheese sauce
- 15 gm butter
- 50 gm mozzarella https://amzn.to/3obkFnp
- 30 ml milk
- 2 gm salt
- 30 ml cream
- 1 minced garlic clove https://amzn.to/3EXVZVz
- 1 tbsp cheese to sprinkle
Instructions
- Slice zucchini lengthwise into ⅛ inch thick strips. Drizzle some oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Briefly cook for 2 minutes on a hot pan. Place a spoon of blanched spinach and a spoon of fresh ricotta on a cooked strip of zucchini. Roll it up. Repeat the same process and roll all the zucchini strips. See the video for reference.
- In an ovenproof dish https://amzn.to/3m5pqML , spoon pizza sauce and place zucchini rolls.
- Make the cheese sauce by heating all the ingredients in a microwave. Refer to the writer article above for a better understanding of making the cheese sauce.
- Spoon cheese sauce over the rolled zucchinis and a little more pizza sauce. Sprinkle some more cheese on the top and bake for 15 minutes at 180 * C Enjoy
Video
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