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Ribboned Zucchini Salad

Posted by Caroline Russock, September 23, 2009 at 5:00 PM

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.

Ribboned Zucchini Salad

- serves 6 -

Adapted from Gourmet Today by Ruth Reichl and John Willoughby.

Ingredients

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

Procedure

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.

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Tags: Cook the Book, Gourmet, Gourmet Today, John Willoughby, Ruth Reichl, salads, vegetarian, zucchini