Zucchini Parcels
For those looking to cut back on calories & carbs, this is a great recipe that mimics the texture you’re looking for when it comes to filled pastas. It’s delicious, can be changed up to suit your tastes and is a much lighter dish for those looking to change things up. You can also add meat to the sauce if you want to bulk the dish up.
2 large zucchini squash
15 oz Low-fat Ricotta
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese-grated (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
1 large egg
1 cup baby spinach-finely chopped
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bottle of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade if you like
To get the thin strips of zucchini you can use a knife, mandolin, special mixer attachment or a peeler, basically use whatever tool you’ve got. You want the slices thin enough that you can bend them but not so thin that they’ll break apart. You can always double stack slices if they’re a little too thin. Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, spinach, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper until combined.
You can either lay out a bunch of your zucchini crosses or do them one at a time. Lay two strips of the zucchini just slightly overlapping then lay two more on top of them forming a cross shape. Using a small scoop, place a small mound of the filling in the center of your cross then working clockwise, fold the four sections over the mound until you have a little parcel.
Oil a large baking dish and place the parcels touching each other with the folded end side down. Cover with your favorite sauce (homemade or store bought) and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. This recipe works great with both red or white sauces, so go for whatever you’re in the mood for. As I mentioned previously, if you’d like to bulk the dish up, brown your choice of ground meat or sausage and add it to your sauce. When I don’t have time to make my own sauce, my go to is the Bertolli sauce shown. It is a versatile sauce that works great in any recipe where you need a good tomato sauce. Once baked, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
