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”
I love making veggie kabobs with zucchini, squash, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes & onions with a some salt and pepper and cooked on the grill…YUM!
I am also a fan of your facebook page and have found soo many fun & healthy new recipes that I have been cooking up a storm! Loving it!
My favorite summer anything is Watermelon! I can eat a ton of it & never grow bored or tired. I have found several recipes this summer for watermelon lemonade & watermelon smoothies so been experimenting with putting it in food. So far I havent been disappointed by anything I have done with it!
Right now, my very favorite is peaches. They are so sweet either grilled or in a great cobbler. Add a few blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (just for color & extra depth of flavor) and you have the perfect dessert or breakfast.
Avocados! On salads, on sandwiches, by itself, grilled! Also rhubarb and nectarines!
This recipe sounds so awesome that I had to LIKE you on Facebook so I could get more recipe ideas!
Lately I’ve been on a kick — a sliced peach, handful of blueberries, handful of raspberries, topped with non-fat vanilla yogurt and a sprinkling of Kashi Crunch cereal. It’s a great breakfast!
I like the Fifteen Spatulas Facebook Page(Kelly D Saver)
I love Pineapple right now, and it’s great grilled on the BBQ sometimes too!
In terms of summer, nothing beats fresh garden tomatoes, straight up with a sprinkle of salt… or corn on the cob charred on the grill!
I’m your newest fb fan ! lol
Fave summer veggie is sweet corn for snacking or corn and bacon soup and fave fruit , peaches esp US peaches , which btw is quiet expensive here tsk tsk for ice cream 😀
I was already a FB fan
The list is endless, my favorite from childhood is creamed new peas and new potatoes. Also Mom’s fresh vegetable soup, we would go out to the garden and pick everything that went into it. I can never get enough of the melons during the season, watermelon, cantaloupe, all the berries, cherries. Fresh corn on the cob. My son just brought me over tomatoes out of the garden, there will never be anything as good as that at the grocery store. Almost forgot the coleslaw made from the cabbage we grew. Like I said, the list is endless, but tomatoes would be my all time favorite.
I also liked your Facebook page too! <3
I absolutely love cooking with avocado! From guacamole or California sandwiches to avocado ice cream and smoothies, it is the perfect fruit for summer 😀