Zucchini Involtini, Lemony Herb-Whipped Feta, Roasted Pepper Sauce
This dish is some of my favorite summery things on a plate, zucchini, feta and red peppers. The Florence summer heat has me gravitating towards simple meals that require minimal prep. Not to mention if you’ve never had whipped feta you need to grab that blender ASAP and maybe double the measurements to have extra for dipping stuff in
An involtini is a small wrapped parcel that can be stuffed with different ingredients such as melts cheese, salumi, veggies its. You can make involtini with veggies or meat, layer the ingredients and roll up. They’re typically stuffed roasted or pan seared or in this case served without additional cooking. This dish is great as an antipasto or as a light lunch on a really HOT day. Have you ever had involtini before?
Serves 4 as Antipasto or 2 for a light lunch
Ingredients:
Mise En Place
2 Red Peppers or 1.5 cups of jarred marinated roasted peppers
4 Zucchini
120 grams (1/2 a cup) Greek Yogurt
200 grams (7 oz) Feta
Zest of half a lemon
2 TB Chopped Herbs (mint, marjoram and basil)
1 TB chopped, and toasted hazelnuts
Salt to taste
EVOO as needed
Method:
Wash your red peppers and dry really well. If using a stovetop grill pan or bbq grill, preheat your grill and grill the red peppers by placing them on the grill leaving them undisturbed until it chars on one side. Turn them to char all sides. Once they’re grilled on all sides, add them to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a plate to let them steam for at least 30 min. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel them, and remove the inner core. Blend the sauce, and season with salt. Set sauce to the side.
If using an oven, preheat to 200 C (375 F) place in a baking tray, and roast until they get charred. Repeat as above.
Pre-heat your stovetop grill on medium flame. Slice the zucchini lengthwise using a mandolin for uniform thickness. Reserve the narrow end pieces for another use like a frittata. For this recipe, we will only use the thicker more symmetrical slices. When your grill is ready, add EVOO as needed to prevent sticking. Grill the zucchini a couple of minutes per side. I also salt and pepper the zucchini as I’m grilling them. Work in batches and place them to the side until assembly.
Blend the yogurt and feta until smooth. Add the lemon zest, and chopped herbs. This won’t need any salt since the feta is salty enough.
Add some of the roasted pepper sauce to your plate. Take the zucchini and spread a thin layer of the whipped feta, roll up and place on the sauce. Once you’ve rolled up all the zucchini, sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts and additional herbs for garnish
This is great as an antipasto, snack, or as a light lunch.
