Tag Archives: zucchini salad

RAW ZUCCHINI AND CHICKPEA SALAD WITH TAHINI YOGURT

Posted in Salads, Side dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by

This whole meal was superb, main dish and salad from Josette’s blog, that I am super fond of. The salad stole the show, but I will give you the link to the Turkish chicken so you can have the whole gastronomic experience. I would definitely serve this for company. Simple to put together, awesome in flavor and texture.


RAW ZUCCHINI AND CHICKPEA SALAD WITH TAHINI YOGURT
(slightly modified from Thebrookcook)

3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 T tahini
zest from 1 large lemon, plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp plus 2 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more to serve
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
15 1/2 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 T red wine vinegar
2 tsp za’atar
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced on a diagonal
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint, finely chopped
2 tsp dried dill
ground sumac, to serve (optional)


In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, tahini, lemon zest and juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside. In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir together the chickpeas, shallot, vinegar and za’atar. Cover and microwave for 90 seconds. Uncover and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

When the chickpeas have cooled, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the zucchini, mint, and dill. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chickpea-zucchini mixture to a platter, spooning it around the edge. Scoop the yogurt mixture into a mound in the center of the chickpea-zucchini mixture.
Drizzle with additional oil and sprinkle with sumac, if using.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here


Comments: Totally in love with this preparation of zucchini, and leftovers tasted great too. We enjoyed it with another recipe from Josette’s site, Turkish Grilled Chicken Thighs with Yogurt Marinade (for full recipe, click here). Josette has a very similar taste in food, so I am always paying attention to her posts. If you don’t follow her yet, consider doing so…

ONE YEAR AGO: Black Tahini Shortbread Cookies

TWO YEARS AGO: A Fruitful Trio (of Macarons)

THREE YEARS AGO: Halloween Entremet Cake

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pork with Prunes, Olives and Capers

FIVE YEARS AGO: Kansas Corn Chowder

SIX YEARS AGO: Impossibly Cute Bacon and Egg Cups

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Pulling Under Pressure

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cooking Sous-vide: Two takes on Chicken Thighs

NINE YEARS AGO: Miso Soup: A Japanese Classic

TEN YEARS AGO: On my desk

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: A must-make veggie puree

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Vegetarian Lasagna

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO:  Brazilian Pão de Queijo

ROASTED CORN AND ZUCCHINI SALAD

Posted in Salads by

You know that kind of recipe that shows up in one of your favorite food blogs and you just have to make it right away? This was it. I saw the picture, the list of ingredients, and fell in love with it. Plus, human beings who have braces on their upper and lower teeth live in a permanent state of craving corn on the cob. The type of pleasure that is far removed from their reality. This salad brings corn back into play. Still a bit hard to negotiate, but doable. Totally doable. Or I should say chewable… Sorry. Got carried away…

ROASTED CORN AND ZUCCHINI SALAD
(very slightly modified from Karen’s Kitchen Stories)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lime
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 ears roasted corn, cooled, and kernels cut off
2 zucchini, chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Whisk the olive oil,  lime juice and zest together in a small bowl until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, add the corn, zucchini, jalapeño, and cilantro. Add the dressing and toss until combined. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to 12 hours.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: You can grill the corn as Karen suggests, but also broil in the oven, which is what I ended up doing. Quick, easy, you just have to keep an eye to avoid burning the delicate kernels, in case you set up your rack too close to the broiler. I prefer to keep it about 6 inches below, which is a good compromise.  Simply rub the corn with a touch of olive oil, and set under the broiler, moving the cob to get all sides nicely charred. Once that is done, let them cool a bit and shave the kernels off to use in the salad.

My recipe was almost exactly like Karen’s, but I made half the amount, and reduced a little bit the proportion of olive oil in the dressing, making it slightly more lemony.  This was refreshing, light, delicious, it will be a regular dish in our rotation, as the husband already requested it for next week. He lives in fear that a dish he really likes might never show up at our table again. No risk with this one.  Raw zucchini, when cut in small dice and allowed to sit with the acidic dressing for a few hours, turns out perfect. I cannot recommend this recipe enough!

We enjoyed it with turkey burgers (my default recipe which we adore), sweet potato fries, and avocado slices.

Karen, thank you for being a constant source of inspiration in my cooking…

ONE YEAR AGO: Fraisier Cake, A Celebration of Spring

TWO YEARS AGO: Zucchini Frittata with Roasted Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

THREE YEARS AGO: Playing with Pectinase

FOUR YEARS AGO: Poached White Asparagus with Lemon and Pistachios

FIVE YEARS AGO: Dan Lepard’s Saffron Bloomer

SIX YEARS AGO: Fesenjan & The New Persian Kitchen

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Pasta Puttanesca

NINE YEARS AGO: Miche Point-a-Calliere

 

 

CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY WITH A SPIRAL KICK

Posted in Celebrate Wednesday, Poultry, Salads by

When I planned this dinner, I did not think it would turn out so delicious, and definitely not something that could go into my files of “Celebrate Wednesday“.  A simple grilled chicken served with a humble zucchini salad?   What could be so special about that?   Hard to pinpoint a particular reason, but I feel this meal was a gastronomic jackpot: the whole combination of flavors is perfect.  Refreshing, light, and satisfying.  You can change the salad around in lots of ways, as long as you add the dressing a few minutes before serving.  That will make sure the zucchini will get the right texture, losing some of its raw bite.  Fresh mint, shaved celery, shaved fennel, those are some of the ingredients that come to mind as add-ons. The chicken marinade will go with pretty much any protein. Including tofu, if you are so inclined…  😉

MisoChickenZucchini

GRILLED MISO CHICKEN
(adapted from Happy Food Happy Home blog)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons miso paste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
juice of 1 lime (2-3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt

Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.

Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and add the marinade. Toss everything around in the bag to coat all the chicken pieces. Marinade for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours.

Grill the chicken using the 7-6-5 method:  seven minutes on the first side, flip the pieces over, grill for 6 more minutes. Turn the grill off without opening the lid, and let the chicken stay inside for 5 minutes. Remove from the grill, let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes slightly tented with aluminum foil, slice and serve.

to print the Grilled Miso Chicken recipe, click here

sliced

SPIRALIZED ZUCCHINI AND CUCUMBER SALAD
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, inspired by Skinny Kitchen)

2 zucchini, ends trimmed, cut on a spiral cutter
1/2 English cucumber, end trimmed, cut on a spiral cutter
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon olive oil or to taste
1 avocado, cut in pieces
handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Use a spiralizer or a mandolin fitted with a julienne blade and cut the zucchini into very thin, spaghetti-like strands. Do the same for the cucumber, but place it over paper towels to drain excess liquid. To make it easier to serve,  trim the strands cutting with scissors or a sharp knife, so that they are about 8 inches long. Place both veggies in a large serving bowl.  Reserve.

In a small bowl, make a quick emulsion whisking the olive oil and lemon juice, a touch of salt and pepper.  When it’s all emulsified, add the lemon zest.

Drizzle the dressing all over the strands of zucchini, and toss to coat.  Allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the avocado pieces, the tomatoes, toss gently to combine.  Sprinkle cilantro, adjust seasoning, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the salad recipe, click here

Comments:  First, my apologies for being unable to give immediate credit to the grilled chicken marinade.  I found it in the internet, thought I had bookmarked it, but instead I did a cut and paste of the ingredients and sent to myself by email.  (Palm hits the forehead!)  Since I clear my bookmark history every week, no luck tracking it down. (Head shake in disbelief…) Hopefully a lesson was learned. However, thanks to one of my dear readers, I could retrieve the source, and correct my mistake.  It came from Happy Food Happy Home. Cute name for a blog… 😉 Thank you, Nan, for finding the source for me.

The salad.  Of course, the spiralizer makes it super fun and interesting, but taste should come first, and in this category we also have a winner. However, depending on how watery your cucumber might be, you could run into problems.  One way around it would be spiralizing only the zucchini and adding the cucumber in small pieces together with the avocado & tomatoes. You can salt them very lightly and wait for a few minutes until the salt draws most of the excessive liquid out.  A brief rinse, a brief encounter with paper towels, and voilà: perfect cucumber!   This is harder to do with the strands, so keep this in mind if you try this salad.

The husband verdict: you can make this recipe ANYTIME. It is awesome!  

When you witness a man who loves pasta, rice, and potatoes giving such a compliment to zucchini, you know you got something special going…  As special as offering two recipes in a single post (wink, wink). Almost as special as a Wednesday evening rescued from the boring middle of the week…
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ONE YEAR AGO: Carrot Flan with Greens and Lemon Vinaigrette

TWO YEARS AGO: Granola Bars

THREE YEARS AGO:  Awesome Broccolini

FOUR YEARS AGO:  A Twist on Pesto

FIVE YEARS AGO: Ciabatta: Judging a bread by its holes