Grilled grey squash stuffed with lemon basil ricotta, topped with yellow grilled spiral squash noodles on a tomato base
I have grown to love squash in a way I never thought I would. There are a number of foods that I realized I didn’t care for because of how other people prepared them. Squash was one of those things I had to work on it myself to get it to a flavor I really enjoy. I like squash to have a bit of a bite to it, lightly salted and a little bit spicy. I think it is one of those vegetables that can take on a lot of flavor but can be eaten with simple spices.
Earlier this week I had been eating lasagna and I still had a craving for Italian tomato flavors, but I could not do pasta again. My waistline could not let me do it. That’s how I came to this dish. I had left over ricotta and tomato sauce and plenty of squash from the farmer’s market. I cut the squash into thin rollable slices, heated up my cast iron griddle and grilled them for a few minutes on each side. This is not a complicated meal especially because I had made tomato soup the day before and I used it for my tomato base.
This meal is simple and fairly light. You can indulge in the cheese but still feel good about getting in some vegetables.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 grey squash
1 yellow squash
Tomato sauce
6 tbsp ricotta cheese
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 tbsp chopped fresh or dried basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Agave to taste
Fresh Parsley for garnish
In a bowl mix all the above ingredients and out in the refrigerator.
Heat griddle pan on high. Slice squash into thin strips, thin enough that they can be rolled. Using a spiral cutter, cut curly strips of squash for the topper. Brush griddle pan with olive oil and place the squash on griddle. Cook until tender and until you see grill marks or about 3 minutes on each side. Lay the strips of squash on a flat surface and spoon a table spoon of cheese mixture onto each of the strips and fold over the ends. Repeat until you have all strips rolled.
Plating:
Put tomato sauce in the center of the plate and gently place the rolled stuffed squash. Spiral the squash curls at the top and top with ricotta cheese. Chop fresh parsley and sprinkle at the top of the tower you created. Serve right away.
