ZUCCHINI CANNELLONI
This shit was ridiculously epic. To be honest I didn't expect it to work let alone taste as good as it did. Now, I'm a pig and divide this into four separate serves for myself, but it is easily dividable by six served with a salad. Low Carb, super high fibre and vegetarian. Get your mouth around it.
SAUCE:
WHAT WE NEED:
- 1x 600g tin crushed tomatoes
- 1-2 tbsp basil (fresh or semi-dried only, completely dried will not have a good flavour)
- 1-2 tbsp oregano
- 1 cup of dry red wine (whatever you have left over from last night you cheeky devil)
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 brown onion, finely chopped
HOW WE DO:
- On a medium heat, brown off your onion and garlic, I find adding a pinch of salt at this stage help to release a little water from these fragrant veggies and stops them from burning
- add your tomatoes, herbs and wine and bring to a nice steady boil
- once you see it bubbling, reduce the heat to low-medium and let it reduce for about an hour. This is the most important part of the sauce so get it going early. You'll see it thicken up over time, the longer you leave it the thicker it will be
FILLING:
WHAT WE NEED:
- half a butternut pumpkin, diced into 1cm cubes
- 250g low fat ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1x 250g box of frozen spinach, thawed
HOW WE DO:
- roast your pumpkin with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, about 180C for 30mins
- put your spinach in the bottom of a mixing bowl, add your hot pumpkin on top and mash with a potato masher
- add ricotta and beat in with a wooden spoon
- add parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and mix in well
BRINGING THE GOODNESS TOGETHER:
WHAT WE NEED:
- 4x medium zucchini's, sliced length-ways into 5mm strips (PLEASE be patient and careful doing this- you will find it easier with a very sharp knife)
- sauce
- filling
- 1/2 cup cheese (or more if you dirty like that)
HOW WE DO:
- Preheat your oven to about 200C
- spray a flat sandwich press with a little olive oil/cooking spray and wedge your sliced zucchini's in there. WATCH THEM! They need to be cooked enough that they're pliable but if you cook them too much they'll turn to mush. Cook in batches, one layer of zucchini per batch, then allow them to cool or you'll burn your little hands.
- Ladle a thin layer of your sauce on the bottom of a ceramic baking dish
- TRICKY PART. Be patient here, (my patience is always assisted by shaking my ass to 2000s hip hop Pandora radio) you want to get one of your slimey little zucchini's on a flat surface, get a generous teaspoon of your mix rolled into a nice little ball, place it at one end of your zucchini slice then slowly roll it up. Stick it facing up in your dish starting at a corner.
- Wedge your little babies in until you fill the dish. I have a nice 30x30cm ceramic dish and it fits 4 zucchini's worth of cannelloni just perfectly
- Ladle your sauce all over the top, add your cheese, salt & pepper and any extra herbs if you're feeing sassy.
- Cook in your oven for about 20mins or until your parmesan is golden brown.
