Zucchini Ribbon Salad


We’ve had an interesting time with our garden this summer. Our tomatoes, eggplants, and greens have grown like crazy even with the scorcher of a summer we’ve experienced, but our zucchini have just not grown as usual. Every year about this time, I generally am usually complaining as I am very tired of trying to come up with new and exciting ways to use zucchini.

I remember my husband walking into my kitchen with yet another bowl full of zucchini and just groaning because I was just tired of preparing zucchini AGAIN. This year, our zucchini plants looked very healthy, but the zucchini would start to grow, then turn yellow, and then shrivel up. We looked online for causes and tried just about everything we could think of without success.

We finally gave up and planted six new zucchini plants in another area of the garden, and now both the new and old zucchini plants are growing well. I am not sure if the extra hot summer we had caused the zucchini to suffer, or if the old zucchini plants were jealous that we planted new ones, but it looks like I will be back on the zucchini bandwagon once again. Luckily, if I have too many zucchinis on hand, I can always grate them for the chickens who always appreciate fresh veggies.

With my new surplus of zucchini, I have been experimenting with recipes. I get tired of preparing vegetables in the same way too often, so I am always looking for new ideas. I decided to create a raw zucchini salad for lunch this week by cutting the zucchini into ribbons, then tossing the ribbons in an herb flavored vinaigrette along with crisp croutons and grated pecorino cheese.

This was an easy salad to pull together for a quick summer lunch, and I know I will be making it often to use up our zucchini surplus. To make my croutons, I cut three slices of Italian bread into small dice, then tossed it with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. I then baked the croutons for 15 minutes until golden brown.

 

Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

This tasty sald uses just a few fresh ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 5 Small Zucchini
  • 4 Zucchini Flowers
  • 1 Cup Crisp Croutons (See Notes Above)

Dressing:

  • 1 Cup of Mixed Mint, Basil, & Parsley
  • 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
  • Juice And Zest of 1 Lemon
  • Salt & Pepper To Taste

Instructions

  1. Use a mandolin cut the zucchini into thin ribbons and place in a bowl.
  2. Thinly slice the zucchini flowers.
  3. In a small blender pulse the dressing ingredients until blended.
  4. Add the croutons to the zucchini, then pour the dressing on top.
  5. Toss the salad until mixed.
  6. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 659Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 259mgCarbohydrates: 87gFiber: 6gSugar: 51gProtein: 7g

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