Manicotti is a traditionally made with large tube shaped pasta but we've found a great substitute - zucchini. Ok, it's not the same thing but it works perfectly. Just slice in half longways, remove the seeds, fill and bake. The filling is exactly the same our regular recipe. We like a blend of three cheese: Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan. Whether you make your own red sauce (check out our meaty marinara) or buy it at the grocery store, this dish will be a hit. It's up to you whether you add meat to the sauce or not, we like it either way. You'll want one zucchini per person. This recipe is enough to fill four (eight halves).
Zucchini Boats
4 large zucchini (7-8 inches)
1-2c marinara sauce (check out our meaty marinara)
1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Pour 1/2c of marinara in the dish and spread it around. Reserve remaining sauce for topping. Set aside.
2. Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds, careful to leave most of the meat, this should leave about a one inch wide cavity for the filling (see picture below). Set aside and prepare the filling.
Manicotti Filling
15oz ricotta cheese
2c mozzarella, shredded (divided)
1/2c Parmesan, grated or shredded
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the filling, except 1c of mozzarella for the topping.
2. Spoon the filling into the hollowed out zucchini boats, careful not to overfill. Place in the baking dish, repeat until all zucchini are filled.
3. Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce over the filling, it's up to you how much sauce to use, we like a little and use about 1c. Top with the remaining 1c mozzarella.
4. Bake 45 minutes, check at the 30 minute mark. If it's browning too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 halves or 4 servings.
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