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ricotta

Veal Stuffed Zucchini Cannelloni

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This dish basically is a lighter twist on stuffed cannelloni – just without the cannelloni. When I was in the kitchen creating this dish, I actually did not mean to recreate cannelloni or put a lighter twist in them. I just let myself experiment. After finishing cooking, when I ate this dish I realized that it actually looked like the typically Italian pasta. It tasted sooo good. Just all the flavors and textures worked really well together. The crunch of the zucchini, the texture of the ground meat, the softness of the melted cheese, and the intense flavor of the tomato sauce. 

It is a little work, to make this dish, so it is not the perfect dish to have as a quick dinner, but it is if you have some more time and want to cook it together with someone else on a date night or a family dinner. I really, really like this dish because it is family friendly, still sneaks in some vegetables and kind of is a lighter twist on a baked pasta dish.

I decided to use minced veal as a meat simply because I really like the flavor and it is pretty lean. If you prefer to use beef, turkey, pig, or even a vegetarian mince that would work too. I just think that the veal doesn’t overpower the other ingredients but still brings a nice flavor and texture. Also, it makes the dish a little bit more Italian because in Italy, veal is used very often. When frying it in the pan, don’t leave it in there for too long since it shouldn’t be completely cooked through as it would get dry in the oven. Also if you do not have an oven safe pan, you can use any other oven safe dish to bake the “cannelloni” in.

The Ricotta that is in the filling along with the meat gives this entire dish such a delicious richness and hearty flavor, which I realllllyyy like. Of course, you can use cream cheese or curd cheese instead but it won’t be the same. Ricotta just has this little something and this instant-Italian twist on every dish you use it in, so I would not substitute it with anything else. All the herbs that are packed into the Ricotta just give it a freshness and make it real good. Never skip the herbs & spices!

When baking the zucchini in the oven, the sauce will get more liquid since the zucchini will loose water. I personally like it because you can pour some more onto your plate but if you prefer to having it thick you can blanch the zucchini strips in simmering water for a few minutes and dry them with a paper towel. This is quite a lot of work because there are a lot of them, so I leave this step out and go for the thinner sauce. Especially when there is not too much time then I’d recommend not doing this extra step.

All in all, this is a pretty simple Italian inspired dish. It is a little bit of work but really fun to make and such a great way to lighten up stuffed cannelloni. I know that some Italians would come and beat me up now if I keep calling this “cannelloni” but it is really good. A dinner that all of your family is going to love!! If you do make it, be sure to share it with me on Instagram and tag me with @uneptcuisiniere or #unepetitecuisiniere. I’d love to see it! 

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Veal Stuffed Zucchini Cannelloni

A delicious lighter twist on the traditional italian classic. Made with ground veal and herbed ricotta, which is all packed into nourishing Zucchini and topped with fresh tomato sauce and molten cheese. Just good.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 30 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 50 Minuten
Servings 4 people
Calories 370 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 Zucchini
  • 1.5 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 White Onion
  • 2 Cloves Garlic
  • 400 g Ground Veal can substitute for any other meat
  • 200 g Ricotta
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 1 tbsp Minced Basil
  • 1 tbsp Minced Sage
  • 1 tbsp Minced Oregano
  • 400 ml Tomatoe Sauce
  • 50 g Parmesan Cheese Do not use pre-grated ones if possible since the quality is alway lower
  • 50 g Mozarella Cheese Buffalo is best

How to

That´s how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. With a peeler, peel of strips of the Zucchini that are about 1-2mm thick. In a pan heat up the olive oil. Meanwhile finely mince the onion and garlic. Once hot add them to the oil and cook them for about 1 minute. Add the meat and generously salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, it does not have to be completely cooked through. 

  2. In a bowl mix the Ricotta with the egg yolk, the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. On a flat surface lay out about three to four Zucchini strips* at a time, depending on how big they are, slightly overlaping. 

  3. Grate the parmesan cheese and chop of the mozarella into about 1.5 cm large pieces. 

  4. At the lower end of them spread one tablespoon of the Ricotta mixture and 1 tablespoon of the minced veal on top. Carefully roll them up and place them aside. Continue until there is no Zucchini and Meat left. 

  5. In an oven-safe dish or pan spread half of the tomato sauce. Carefully place the Cannelloni horizonatlly in it. Top them with the rest of the tomato sauce and the different cheeses.

  6. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, so the cheese has all molten and the Zucchini is cooked through. Serve with some fresh basil and enjoy!

Notes

*if you want the dish to be less watery, blanch the Zucchini strips in simmering water for about 1 minute here. Then transfer them into an ice bath and pat them dry. Continue to follow along the recipe. 

I do not think that this step is necessary because I like it to be saucy but this depends on your preference.

French Toast with Whipped Ricotta and Figs

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When it comes to breakfast I am usually the savory, and quick kind of person. I´ll mostly go for some avo toast with scrambled eggs or if I want something sweet for a yoghurt-chia pudding bowl with fresh fruit. Both of these come together in like 3 minutes and are really good. But on the weekends when I am not in a hurry I like to make something a little more time consuming. Sometimes I´ll go for something like eggs benedict or a beautiful fruit platter and eggs, pancaked or whatever I feel like. 

Last week though, we had this really nice, fluffy bread that was so good!! But I simply didn´t feel like having something savory so I decided to try making a french toast. I hadn´t made French toast often before that and I have actually never eaten until a little over a year when I visited the US for the first time. We used to get it in the cafeteria a few times a week and it was soo good! I remembered this French toast instantly when I saw this bread so I immediately decided to make it. 

The secret to making the best French Toast is thick bread slices, like 3cm, and a good amount of butter or coconut oil for frying. This makes it really crispy on the outside but really delicious and gooey on the inside, which equals the perfect French toast. The perfect bread to use is Brioche bread, but latterly ever bread works fine. If you are using a rather sweet bread like brioche, you do not have to make the dipping as sweet, but if you go for a dark on, you should make it a little sweeter. I have made both, with a brioche one and with one that actually was a potato-sourdough one, and they both turned out insanely delicious and addicting!

It actually is super simple to make and only asks for ingredients most people have on hand, which makes it a perfect Sunday morning breakfast when all the stores are closed anyway. For the dipping I used whole eggs because I think that they simply taste better than just the egg whites, almond milk, but you can use any dairy or dairy-free milk you like, some honey and a ton of cinnamon – because you can never have too much cinnamon. 

The toppings are the best part of every meal I think – also here. The whipped honey Ricotta is so insanely tasty and has such an addiction effect, it is soooo good! It has the perfect sweetness, the sweetness that already is in the rich Ricotta, and then that super good honey flavor. Mixed together and whipped fluffy, just good. Let me tell you, you won´t ever eat French toast without that again. It is not as fatty as butter or cream but it definitely beats it in flavor. Such a great variation to the good old piece of butter on top. 

The fresh figs perfectly round up the entire dish. They add a freshness and a bite, while not giving a contrast that is too harsh. I like using figs as they are seasonal and grown local at this time of the year but if you prefer berries, bananas or any other fruit that would work perfectly fine too. If you feel like getting extra fancy, you can even caramelize your fruits a little if you heat up some coconut oil or butter in a pan, add some sugar and then the fruit. This gives it an extra dish but I do not like it to be too sweet, so I leave out this step. The toast still tastes amazing. The crispy on the outside soggy on the inside toast, the creamy, tangy whipped Ricotta, the fresh fruits, and then that drizzle of honey on top. What do you want more?

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French Toast with Whipped Ricotta and Figs

Perfect Sunday Brunch Meal for a sweet tooth.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 20 Minuten
Servings 2 People
Calories 661 kcal

What you will need

For the toast:

  • 160 G Brioche Bread or any other bread you like
  • 200 ml Almond Milk
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 tsp Honey can substitute for Maple if you prefer
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp Coconut Oil maybe more depending on your pan

For the Whipped Ricotta:

  • 160 g Ricotta
  • 1 tbsp Honey

For the toppings:

  • 3-4 figs
  • some honey

How to

  1. Thats how it works:

  2. Add the milk, the eggs, the cinnamon, honey, and salt in a big bowl and mix until all combined. Meanwhile heat up the coocnut oil in a pan. Once hot, dip the bread slices into the milk mixture so that both sides are covered with it.

    Place the dipped bread into the pan and fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. If you feel like they are sticking to the pan simply add more oil.

  3. While the toast are frying add the Ricotta and the honey into a bowl. EIther with a hand mixer or simply with an egg whisk, whip it up until its all creamy and fluffy.

  4. Cut the figs in half or quaters.

  5. Take the bread out of the pan once it is finished. Top it with the Ricotta, the figs ad an extra drizzle of Honey.

  6. Enjoy!