Zucchini rollatini is great any time of year, but especially when zucchini is in season. And an added bonus here is that it's dairy-free thanks to the cashew ricotta recipe included here.
There's 3 recipes all rolled into one here: a very quick, easy marina sauce, cashew ricotta cheese, and finally, the rollatini.
You can grill or pan-fry the zucchini strips. And, if it's hot outside you can get away with baking the dish on the grill to melt the ricotta and warm the sauce.
You'll want to leave some time to soak the cashews, and roll the zucchini rollatinis, so plan for a bit of prep time. You can prepare the ricotta cheese a day or so ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
As for slicing the zucchini into ¼ inch (6.35 cm) strips, I used to use a knife until I acquired a mandoline slicer. You get consistently even slices using the slicer, so I'd recommend getting one of these if you slice vegetables often. I have an Oxo mandoline slicer.
Zucchini Rollatini {dairy-free}
Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini as straight as possible, ends trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup cashew ricotta recipe below
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- handful spinach leaves
- handful fresh basil leaves
Cashew Ricotta Cheese
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 6 hours, or overnight, or 1 hour in boiling water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water optional if you'd like to thin it out a bit
Instructions
- Using a madonlin or a knife, slice each zucchini into ¼ inch (.635 cm) slices. You'll yield about 4 to 6 slices per zucchini, or up to 24 slices.
- Brush each slice lightly with olive oil and sprinkle some salt on each side.
- Grill the zucchini slices or pan-fry them on each side. Get them just soft enough to roll them but don't let them turn too soft or mushy.
- Add the cashews, lemon juice, and salt to a food processor and process until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides in between processing. If you prefer the cheese a bit thinner, add water gradually until it's at the thickness you prefer.
- At this point you can either add the spinach and basil to the ricotta cheese and process, or just chop the leaves up and mix them into the cheese with a spoon or spatula.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese on each zucchini slice and then roll the slice up. Repeat for each zucchini slice.
- Place the rolled zucchinis in a baking dish, add the tomato sauce on top of them and bake them for about 15 minutes at 400° F (200 C° or gas mark 6).
Jen says
I’ve made these in the past and they are delicious! I plan on making a big batch this weekend. Do you know if they would freeze and reheat well?
Erica says
I suspect the zucchini might get a bit soft but it will still taste delicious. If you can freeze the sauce separately that might help to keep the zucchini from getting too soft.
Theresa says
I made this tonight and it is delicious! My son told me that this was the best food he had eaten in a long time! He then used some leftover cashew cheese along with some cheddar to make a grilled cheese sandwich (on almond bread.) He said that it was the best grilled cheese sandwich he has ever had. Lol. Thank you so much!
Erica says
Genius to use it for grilled cheese! It does cook well!