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”
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Favorite veggie: Tomato….juiced, chopped in salads, steamed with rice….Yummmmmy!
I also ‘liked’ you on FB.
Your recipes are #1!
My favorite fruit is peaches. I am from the South and I love a good hot peach cobbler with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream! My favorite vegetable is a tart homegrown tomato. Besides BLT’s, I also make a tomato/basil pie (Paula Deen’s version) which is scrumptious.
Only one? It’s SUMMERTIME~ Peaches, strawberries, apricots, plums, BLACKBERRIES (yum) of those, I enjoy raw but also make jams. As for the veggies, nothing can beat a garden-fresh ripe tomato. Tomato sandwiches on toast with fresh basil or lettuce or sprouts! My only unusual riff on a veggie is for zucchini; I slice them in half lengthwise, scoop out a trough with a grapefruit spoon, then fill in the space with Parmesan and maybe some breadcrumbs, green chile or corn, then either broil them, nuke ’em or grill them. YUM.
I liked you on FB too.
I really enjoy your posts.
I love to grill eggplants, squash, onions and tomatoes for a vegetable meal. Sometimes we add grill packets of potatoes from the garden too. All we do is brush them with olive oil and seasonings….for the eggplant I like Cajun….for the squash I like fresh herbs and tomatoes just a bit of olive oil and serve pesto on the side and fresh baked bread!
My favorite summer treat is the tomato, and I see I’m not alone! I have a short growing season and I can hardly stand the wait. I grow heirlooms of all kinds, and when one is ready my first step is to slice it, top it with a few flakes of salt (like, less than 5) and savor the unique flavor of each one. THEN, I absolutely love to top a cracker (I prefer something substantial, but not greasy) with a spread of goat cheese, a slice of tomato, and just a drop or two of a balsamic/honey reduction. SO good! Also delicious is to substitute the cracker for a toasty bread piece. The sweet tomato is perfectly balanced by the tangy goat cheese 🙂
Those look amazing!
My favorite summer veggie is sweet corn! I love it grilled and added to any kind of summer kabob!! Mmmm! My favorite summer fruit is wayy to difficult to choose lol can we make a fruit salad with all of them? 😉 I’d have to go with blackberries, made into a jam or eaten as is.
My favorite summer fruit is watermelon. I like to puree it for watermelon mojitos, popsicles, and margaritas.
Green Plums! – Wash a bunch of them, cut them up and dip into kosher salt. My favorite since I was itty bitty. Only in season in June, though 🙁
My favorite summer veggie is definitely zucchini. I grate it raw and incorporate it into my pasta salad with tomato, cheese and my special spicy mustard dressing.
These are beautiful! Great recipe. My fav summer veggies are eggplant and tomatoes – I like to grill them and then use as bruschetta topping.
I LOVE sweet corn!! But I just eat it as is – just steamed on the cob.
However, I also love zucchini. I like to finely grate it into tons of stuff, because it just cooks up and you’d hardly ever know it’s there. I put it in just about every casserole I make, most pot meals, and use it in almost every soup as a thickener. It’s magic.
I’m all about tomatoes…..and I LOVE bruschetta!
You are right, sometimes is a little bit hard to think about healthy recipes, if you ask me about zucchine, I will tell you that I will use for a zucchini bread…yes, that is me. I don’t have to much imagination for savory things.
Your proposal is fantastic, and very esy to make. I will keep it for a celebration day…to serve with some Pisco drink of course 😉
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