Crunchy zucchini salad with pine nuts -and a few days in Rome
For the most part, food ingredients taste different depending on whether they are cooked or not cooked. Mushrooms, peppers, broccoli or cauliflower, as well as carrots or brussels sprouts, can be prepared in many ways: sautéed, fried, baked, battered, in tempura, and even raw, in salads or smoothies. But few ingredients have such different flavor when you use a different method of dicing or cutting.
To me, zucchini is one of those. While I don’t usually eat raw zucchini, raw zucchini cut in ribbons is the exception, and I can eat as many of those as crispy battered zucchini (get the recipe here).
Crunchy zucchini salad with pinenuts is easy to make, and once you try it, you’ll find yourself making it very often. Even if zucchini is not your favorite vegetable, you are going to like this salad. The crunchiness of the ribbons of zucchini is so satisfying! One little piece of advice: while I don’t usually promote any specific brands of foods or utensils, I can’t tell you enough good things about the mandoline I use (click here). It’s manual and not fancy, very affordable, and a favorite of Japanese chefs —it’s made in Japan. I highly recommend it.
I didn’t plant my vegetable garden last spring due to the unusual amount of rain we received during the period before my trip to Spain. I lost my window of opportunity for planting and I cried on my return, when the bounty of the vegetable garden welcomes me every year. Zucchini was always one of the most abundant vegetables in my garden, so this year I’ve had to purchase them. Thankfully, we have a wonderful farmer’s market in downtown Fort Wayne every Saturday during summer, so I never had a shortage of zucchini or tomatoes. The market closed for the winter recently, and I got the last of the fresh zucchini, and made crunchy zucchini salad with pine nuts one last time. The texture and crunchiness of the zucchini, the creamy nuttiness of the pine nuts and the freshness of mint make this one of my favorite salads.
While zucchini was NOT growing in my garden this past summer, this is some of what I was doing (see photos). A trip to Spain usually turns into shorter trips elsewhere in Europe, and since I’ve always thought the word zucchini sounded very Italian, I’ll share a few photos of our days in Rome last summer.
CRUNCHY ZUCCHINI AND PINE NUTS SALAD
Ensalada de calabacín y piñones
Ingredients:
For dressing:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs minced shallot
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium zucchini
1/4 cup pine nuts
A few torn fresh mint leaves
Make the dressing:
In a small bowl, stir together the shallot, honey, mustard, salt and balsamic vinegar. Add the oil in a slow, thin stream, while continuing to stir to integrate the oil. (Alternatively, add all ingredients in a glass jar, close with the lid and shake vigorously)
In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until golden brown, shaking the pan frequently for an even roast. Transfer the nuts to a small plate to cool.
Using the mandoline, slice the zucchini lenghtwise into 1/8 inch thick ribbons. Arrange on a platter. Toss the torn fresh mint leaves over the zucchini. Drizzle with 3-4 Tbs of dressing and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.
Note: the remaining dressing can be put in a jar and refrigerate for up to 3 days
Piazza San Pietro
