Kurt R.A. Giambastiani

Once my zucchini plants started pumping out 16+oz fruit, I had to think of something to do with them. Fast.

I came across a recipe that turned zucchini into tagliatelle (wide, flat noodles) by julienning them on a mandoline, and thought, “Eureka!” But no, at least not that recipe, which called for nearly 2 cups of fresh mint.

Some zucchini with your mint, sir?

So, I kept the technique, but changed the recipe, and hit upon something really nice. Clean, lively flavors, and goes great with a glass of pinot grigio or sauv-blanc. Note: if you don’t have a mandoline, you can use a box grater (see bottom of recipe).

Summer Zucchini Salad

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds zucchini
• 1 small cucumber
• 3 celery ribs (from near the heart)
• 1 small white onion, finely diced
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp. fresh tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt (to taste)
• 5-7 drops sesame oil
• Coarse-ground black pepper (to taste)

Procedure

• Peel the zucchini and trim the ends.
• Put a ¼-inch width julienne blade in your mandoline; set the thickness to about 1/8-inch (no mandoline? see notes).
• Work one side of the zucchini through the mandoline until you get to the seeds; rotate and work each of the other sides in turn, leaving a seed-filled inner rectangle (which you can discard).
• Put the julienned zucchini into a large bowl.
• Scrub but don’t peel the cucumber, cut it lengthwise into 4 pieces, and remove the seedy center.
• Cut the cucumber into chunks about ¼-inch thick; add them to the bowl.
• Cut the celery ribs in half, lengthwise, then into chunks about ¼-inch thick; add them to the bowl.
• Wash the diced onion in clear water, then dry on paper towels (this tempers the onion’s bite); add it to the bowl.
• Add the grated lemon zest to the bowl.
• Add the fresh chopped tarragon to the bowl.
• Using your hands, gently toss everything in the bowl to mix them thoroughly.
• In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice, the olive oil, and salt; whisk to mix
• Start with 5 drops of sesame oil; taste and adjust the sesame oil and salt as needed
• Pour the dressing over the salad and gently toss to distribute evenly.
• Season generously with coarse-ground black pepper, tossing to distribute.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Serve in whorls on chilled plates.

Notes

• If you don’t have a mandoline and a ¼-inch width julienne blade, you can make 1/8-inch thick slices with the slicing side of a box grater. Then stack wide slices and cut them into ¼-inch wide tagliatelle with a knife.
• You can use sweet onions (Vidalia, Walla Walla, etc.) instead of the white onion, if you want less of a bite, but I’ll think you’re punking out. 😉

k