These vegetable stacks are fun to make, very easy to put together and they make a beautiful and unique presentation. I’m a big fan of grilled vegetables, and as soon as the weather gets nice I’m often out there grilling whatever veggies I have on hand.
Basically you stack up some of your favorite grilled vegetables layered with a very flavorful ricotta mixture in between.
I chose to make mine with some grilled zucchini and grilled eggplant, but think about it, you can stack nicely sliced bell peppers, onion slices, potato slices and portobella mushrooms to name a few, all layered with that dreamy ricotta mixture.
You’ll want to get some good grill marks for a nice presentation when the vegetables are stacked.
The “glue” and the flavor buster in between the layers is this mix of ricotta, grated Parmigiano or grated Romano cheese, granulated garlic, parsley, basil, lemon zest and a touch of lemon juice, salt and pepper. There is no recipe, put everything in a bowl mix it up measure with your heart and taste it to your liking. I would suggest getting a more store-bought whole milk ricotta instead of the kind in water behind the deli.
If you get the deli kind you need to strain it of it’s liquid before mixing in everything else. The lemony and herby ricotta mix really elevates the whole dish.
It’s a different way of enjoying your grilled veggies. You can eat it for lunch, brunch, a light dinner. We even stuffed some in a pita for a light dinner one day, it’s all good!
To finish it off make a light vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk it up really good until it thickens ,then spoon some all around your stacks and on to your serving platter to enhance it even more.
Happy grilling!
I love making desserts using ricotta so when I first saw this recipe in the cookbook, 
I received this book for review written by Rosetta Costantino she’s also the author of the acclaimed, My Calabria. I was instantly drawn in by the cover photo which was a beautiful watermelon pudding tart, I’ve never seen anything like it. When summer returns to Chicago and watermelon is back in season I’m definitely going to make that!
For the stuffed pears I needed almond paste which I didn’t have, no worries she tells you how to make it in the book along with many other tips. It was actually quite simple to make, blanched almonds, sugar, water and a little almond extract whirled until it forms a paste in the food processor.
The key is to find firm but ripe fat bottomed pears so you’ll have plenty of room to stuff them with the ricotta mixture.
As the pears are baking the ricotta mixture puffs up inside and over the top. The recipe gives you the option to then eat it as is, or to drizzle the pears with a chocolate sauce.
Obviously I went with the chocolate!
It’s that time of year when you start seeing butternut squash all over the place, it’s my favorite kind of squash so I usually always have one on hand sitting on my counter ready and waiting for me whenever I need it. I’ve made
Fresh ricotta, kale, parmesan and a little lemon zest gets mixed into the tender baked squash for a very flavorful filling.
Try to get a hold of some good quality fresh pasta sheets, you could make your own if you like especially if your doing it for a crowd or for the holidays but this is my quick mid-week version. I like to cut my store bought pasta sheets in half, I find the cannelloni gets too doughy otherwise. So for every sheet of pasta I can make two cannelloni.
Spoon on a generous amount of filling then roll them up and place each one seam side down on a buttered baking dish.
Make sure you let your chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into it.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
