Vegetable Manicotti

I had some reservations about this recipe. One, Toby isn’t a huge fan of zucchini, and two, he doesn’t love red peppers. But- I made it anyway. And you know, I should have listened to my inner voice. It wasn’t great. It calls for lasagna noodles so you can roll them up like manicotti. I had 3 lasagna noodles in my pantry, BUT I did have manicotti. So I used both. The cottage cheese tasted ok in the filling. I think my problem with this recipe was the red pepper-tomato sauce. I think plain old tomato sauce would have been better. I probably won’t make this again.

rating: 4

Vegetable Manicotti
(from the magazine “Every Day with Rachael Ray”)

8 6″-long lasagna noodles
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly-sliced crosswise
1 pint cottage cheese, drained in a strainer
1 16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and 1/2 cup finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped basil leaves, plus 8 leaves, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 tomato, chopped

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

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

3. Using a food processor, puree the drained cheese until smooth; add to the zucchini along with the chopped roasted pepper and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Rinse the food processor bowl.

4. 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.

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

Serves 4