Once in a While, My Husband is Right

David came home from the grocery store the other day and started raving about this dish they were sampling. He began waving the recipe card in front of my face and said, “You’ve got to make this. It’s so good!”

Yea, yea…whatever, I thought and kept unloading the groceries.

But when a foodie friend of mine started telling me about how great this zucchini dish was that she tried at Central Market, it made me stop and realize that perhaps David was onto something. She confirmed that it was the same dish David was freaking out over, so I decided to give it a whirl.

Because zucchini is abundant at the farmers markets right now, I asked David to get some at the Sunday market.

And now I know why they were all so crazy for it. It’s a recipe from the Argentinean Festival Central Market hosted a few weeks ago when I shared my chimichurri recipe. To make this dish even more attractive, it’s a recipe from Francis Mallman, the Argentinean chef-extraordinaire.

And it’s good. Really good. The fact that it’s raw only makes it that much better for you. Slice the zucchini thin enough, though, and you’ll swear it’s cooked, as the acid tends to “cook” whatever it touches.

This raw zucchini salad is a perfect accompaniment to grilled meat or just fabulous all by itself, although I think it would be even better along side a big bowl of gazpacho.

Buen provecho!

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Raw Zucchini Salad

This salad is a great accompaniment to grilled meats and is perfect for a hot summer day. I do recommend that you eat it the day it's made or the next day, as the lemon can "cook" the zucchini. You can make this salad ahead of time, but omit the herbs and cheese, adding them just before you are ready to serve it.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword raw, salad, zucchini

Servings 6

Author The Cowgirl Gourmet slightly modified this Francis Mallman recipe

Ingredients

• 2  lbs. small to medium-sized zucchini sliced thinly at an angle (about 1/16 of an inch)
• 2 large lemons one zested and the juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons of mint and basil roughly chopped or torn
• Parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

1. Place the sliced zucchini in a large bowl.

   

2. Zest one lemon and squeeze the juice of one and a half lemons over the zucchini.

   

3. Add the olive oil and carefully season with salt (about 1/4 teaspoon to start) and pepper. Toss to combine. 
   

4. Add the herbs and toss again. 
   

5. Top with Parmesan and serve.