Ribboned Zucchini Salad
The following recipe is from the September 23 edition of our weekly recipe newsletter. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here!
Last week I told you all about my irrational disdain for making salads—a week later, nothing has changed. I still get testy when a pile of greens needs to be washed, dried, and dressed. So this week I am going to share a recipe with you for an anti-salad—there are raw vegetables involved but no pesky greens to deal with.
This Ribboned Zucchini Salad from Gourmet Today by Ruth Reichl and John Willoughby is a wonderful alternative to a mixed greens salad. If you haven't experimented with raw zucchini, I strongly advise you try it out. It has a slight sweetness, a faint but satisfying crunch, and it's the perfect vehicle for an acid-rich dressing. The mint, basil, anchovy paste, and Kalamata olives called for in this recipe give this composed salad a decidedly Mediterranean feel. Once you feel comfortable making a raw zucchini salad, variations will come naturally. It's wonderful dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, a few red pepper flakes, and some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano or ricotta salata and fresh oregano or marjoram.
Ingredients
yield: 6
- 2 pounds small zucchini, trimmed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 ounces frisée (French curly endive), trimmed and torn into small pieces (4 cups loosely packed)
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, torn lengthwise in half if large
- 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
- 12 Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (1/2 cup)
- Special equipment: a mandoline or other adjustable-blade vegetable slicer
Procedures
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1
Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices with slicer and transfer to a colander set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let stand for 5 minutes.
-
2
Rinse zucchini over cold running water. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and spread out in one layer, then gently roll the towel and let stand for 5 minutes to absorb extra moisture.
-
3
Whisk together oil, zest, juice, mustard, anchovy paste, and pepper in a large bowl until combined.
-
4
Add zucchini and the remaining ingredients and toss well. Serve immediately.
