Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites
Zucchini ribbons are grilled and rolled with a delicious artichoke pesto for a creative and delicious summer appetizer!
It’s easy to get creative with cookies, cakes, and other baked goodies, isn’t it?
Take a chocolate cake for instance.
It can be layered with vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, lemon filling, raspberry filling, peanut butter frosting, whipped meringue, chocolate ganache, and on and on.
But how about getting creative with healthy things?
It’s so easy to get in a rut with vegetables.
You pick up a zucchini and you stare…what do I do with this?
Because chances are, you’ve already sauteed it, steamed it, and grilled it.
These preparations get old.
Let’s do something a little more fun with zucchini today.
Toss some artichoke hearts, a handful of fresh parsley, walnuts, lemon zest and juice, and garlic into a food processor:
Pulse, pulse, pulse.
Stream in some olive oil, and stir in parmigiano reggiano, and you’ll end up with a bowl of this:
Grill up some thin slices of zucchini, and spread each zucchini ribbon with a spoonful of the artichoke pesto:
Roll it up, nice and tight:
And that’s it! Ready to serve. Easy peasy and a totally delicious celebration of summer veggies.
Also check out my Ultimate Guide to Zucchini! It covers how to store zucchini, how to pick a good one at the grocery, and 60+ recipe ideas using zucchini.
Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites
Ingredients
- 2 lbs zucchini about 2-3 large zucchini
- 9 oz package frozen artichoke hearts thawed and squeezed of excess water
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- the leaves of half a bunch of parsley about a cup
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 oz parmigiano reggiano grated (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Cut the stem off the zucchinis, then use a mandolin to slice them into long thin ribbons. They should be about 1/8 inch thick, if they’re too thin they won’t stand up on the own, but if they’re too thick, they won’t be flexible enough to roll. Give each one a little sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat the grill to high, and do a quick sear of the zucchini. Since they are really thin, they should only be on the grill for about 30-60 seconds, just enough to take the raw edge off and give them some pretty little grill marks. Remove the grilled zucchini ribbons to a plate.
- In a food processor, throw in the artichoke hearts, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, walnuts, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Let the food processor run for a good 20 seconds, until everything is chopped up, and be sure to stop and scrape down the sides from time to time. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil. Scrape the pesto out into a bowl, and stir in the grated parmesan. Taste it to check for proper seasoning.
- Place a spoonful of artichoke pesto into each zucchini ribbon, and roll it up into a little roll. The artichoke pesto is sticky so it should stick together well. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
269 Comments on “Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites”
Hands down: pineapple. It can be simple: dehydrated, fresh, frozen (yum), and it is mindblowing. Put the possibilities are endless. Grill it in rings, and it’s a wonderful sandwich or burger garnish. Put it into a gazpacho soup for a refreshing zing and burst of flavor. Puree it with some coconut cream or butter and run it in an ice cream maker for a delectable dessert. Ginger-pineapple infused rum for a special mixer. Hummus, pineapple, avocado sandwich with the Arkansas summer’s fresh and flavorful cucumbers and beautiful heirloom tomatoes. Amazing in a tuna-avocado-jalapeno salad. Should I go on? Next thing on my bucket list.. move somewhere where I can take a daily walk to a market for fresh, tree-ripened pineapple.
Eggplant!!! I absolutely love making eggplant parmesan for my family, the first time I made it they didn’t even realize there was no meat!!! hahaha:)
This is right up my alley. They look gorgeous…cook book quality photograph!
Lately I’ve been enjoying watermelon with lime…refreshing!
Avocado is relatively new to me, so I’m still loving that as a raw addition to all of my dishes
I also liked the FB page =]
tomatoes! I just like them fresh and raw – maybe in a simple salad with basil, olive oil, and S&P.
I love avocados, and I like them straight up.
The cucumber… So many refreshing ways to enjoy. I start in the morning by going out and picking the biggest freshest cucumber… Then I start with a few slices in my water jug. I slice up the rest for a lite breakfast (whole wheat toast, low fat ricotta, cucumber slices and Italian seasoning). I cube the rest of the cucumber for a tomato /cucumber/pasta salad to take to work for the day. And then I don’t have any left overs.
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Strawberries! I love them in smoothies!
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Lovely, my kind of food, pinned :-)!!!
Ciao
Alessandra
Wow this looks so delicious, I’ve been looking for some new ways to use my zucchini this summer!
Zucchini is my favorite veggie to cook during the summer, I usually roast it with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, yum! And I love grilled nectarines during summertime as well. 🙂
This recipe sounds so delish! My favourite summer veggie though is sweet corn. While my go to way to make it is just grilling it up, it’s perfect on a cool summer day for corn chowder.
sour cherries and strawberries in an oatmeal crisp
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