Thursday, March 02, 2006

Welcoming Spring with Raw Zucchini Salad



Spring is almost here. Now what better way to know that than by visiting farmers' markets. The delicious veggies artichokes, asparagus, spring peas are already showing up. Not to mention baby vegetables...

The tiny potatoes, baby artichokes and tender zucchini are things I look forward to buying. They are available now in farmers' markets in the west coast. It is better not to mess around with these guys. I like to leave them alone and steam or braise them. They should be even better raw. With this thought I made this zucchini carpaccio salad. The basic recipe is from Tyler Florence's 'Eat This'.

Raw Zucchini salad- serves 2

2 small and tender zucchini, cut into paper-thin rounds
1/2 lemon
EVOO for drizzling on top
2-3 T finely chopped dill, chives or any herb of your choice
1 T finely chopped red or green onion (Tyler suggested using leek)
salt and pepper
2 T crumbled ricotta or goat cheese
a few sprigs of mint

Arrange zucchini on a plate. Add salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over slices and also drizzle with EVOO. Scatter onion and chopped herbs on top.

Refrigerate at least 15 min. Before serving, crumble cheese on top and also tear up the mint and add to the salad.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Mika... With the kind of weather we had, it looked like spring & winter both. I tried this salad yesterday for a get togther with friends. It turned out really good. Thanx so much for the recipe. I also added a little red pepper flakes, which added that little spice to it.

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  2. Hi Tina- glad that you like the recipe. Red pepper is such a great addition, with some surprise in every bite.

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  3. Raw zucchini, eh? Hmm... maybe I'll like it better as a salad. It's not that I dislike zucchini, but it's just such a BLAND vegetable! :)

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