Vegetable Manicotti

I saw this recipe for Vegetable Manicotti in my Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine and decided to give it a try since we had a large zucchini in the fridge that needed to be used.


I ended up making some serious modifications because I was skeptical of how this would turn out. SP was not a fan, even with my modifications. He said it was too bland and there wasn't enough sauce. I'd make this again, but it still needs work.

Vegetable Manicotti
Inspired by Every Day with Rachael Ray
August 2008

Eight 6-inch-long lasagna noodles (I used a whole box and it was too much. Next time I'll stick with 8 noodles)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
(2 cloves garlic, minced)
1 pint cottage cheese, drained in a strainer (I used a pint of ricotta cheese since we aren't fans of cottage cheese)
One 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and 1/3 cup finely chopped (my supermarket doesn't sell 16-ounce jars so I used 12 ounces. It was fine)
1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves, plus 8 leaves, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 tomato, chopped (I used 2 canned tomatoes and it wasn't enough. Next time I'd use a full 14 1/2-ounce can, at least for the way I prepared this)
(Shredded mozzarella cheese)
(Grated Pecorino cheese)

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles, stirring often, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini (and garlic. Season with salt and pepper) and cook, stirring, until golden (and softened), about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Using a food processor, puree the drained cheese until smooth; add to the zucchini along with the chopped roasted peppers and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper (and some grated Pecorino cheese.) Rinse the food processor bowl.

Lay the noodles flat on a work surface. Place an equal amount of the zucchini mixture at the end of each noodle, then roll up. Divide the rolls among 4 dinner plates. (Here's where I deviated - I put some of the sauce in a baking dish and put the rolls in there, topped them with shredded mozzarella and Pecorino and more sauce and baked them at 400 until the cheese melted.)

Using the food processor, puree the remaining roasted peppers with the tomato until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the rolls. Top with the sliced basil.