Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups with Herbs and Cheese

Recipe from Ellie Krieger The Food You Crave
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Yield: Makes 4 servings (serving size: 4 rolls)

We host a Boxing Day Party every year on the day after Christmas. One year we asked everyone to bring something to eat that they had never made before. Another year, we had homemade soup and bagels. Last year we had “Breakfast for Dinner” and everyone came to the party in the pajamas. What fun!!! We served an abundance of breakfast foods including Grandma's French Toast (Recipe on this blog.) This year we asked everyone to bring finger foods. Our guests didn’t bring bags of chips and tubs of pre-made dips. No ma’am! Everything was lovingly made from scratch and obviously took much time and effort. Their presentations were a sight to behold. My daughter-in-law and I made several finger foods for the party as well. Here is one of several we made. Everyone wanted to know, “What’s in these?” Since it is winter, we didn’t have access to fresh basil, so we used prepared pesto instead. If you don’t have any pesto in your freezer, don’t worry. You can buy pesto in a jar at Lost River Market & Deli.

3 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/16 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 1/2 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 ounces baby spinach (2 cups lightly packed)
1/3 cup basil leaves (or pesto)

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium. Discard the outermost slices of zucchini; brush the rest with oil on both sides. Sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and pepper. Grill until tender, about 4 minutes per side. You can prepare the zucchini a day ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, parsley, and lemon juice, mashing together with a fork. Put 1/2 teaspoon of the cheese mixture about 1/2 inch from the end of a zucchini slice. Top with a few spinach leaves and a small (or half of a large) basil leaf or ¼ teaspoon of pesto. Roll up and place seam side down on a platter. Repeat with remaining zucchini slices. You can make these up to a day in advance; store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

CALORIES 80 ; FAT 6g (sat 2g,mono 3g,poly 0.0g); CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 45mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5g; SODIUM 106mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 2g; IRON 1mg