Gimme Some Oven

Summer Vegetable “Ribbon” Salad

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A few years ago, I made the decision to bid farewell to having cable in the casa. And I have to say, I’ve never looked back! Nearly any show I want to watch is now online, and if not (like “Mad Men”…tear…), I’ve made my peace with waiting til DVD. :-)

But of course, the one thing I miss dearly is the Food Network. I feel like everyone around me is always talking about the great recipes, techniques, and favorite chefs they watch regularly. So I sigh and watch what clips I can on Hulu, and learn what I can reading books and blogs. But while hanging at a friend’s recently, Giada came on as we were changing channels, and we ended up watching an episode for kicks. Loved it! :)

That day, she happened to be making this yummy zucchini crudi recipe. I still don’t have a mandoline, but she used a simple vegetable peeler to create these beautiful strips of zucchini, tossed with some asparagus and a simple lemon dressing, and finished with Parmesan. I immediately came home to give it a try, and also threw in some yellow squash and carrots to add color. (And blanched the asparagus to give it even more color!)  And voila — a gorgeous summer vegetable salad!

I’m happy to say that it tasted just as wonderful as it looks! I was a little curious about the raw (“crudi” in Italian) zucchini/squash, and the simplicity of the lemon dressing. But both were light and fresh — perfect for summer! So grab your vegetable peeler, and have fun making this beautiful dish. Thanks, Giada!

 

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Summer Vegetable “Ribbon” Salad

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  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2-3 servings 1x

Description

All you need is a vegetable peeler to make this Summer Vegetable “Ribbon” Salad recipe, which is just as delicious as it is beautiful.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 zucchini, ends cut off
  • 1 yellow squash, ends cut off
  • 1 small bunch asparagus, tough ends removed
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and ends cut off
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 ounces shaved Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, for garnishUsing a vegetable peeler or mandoline, shave the zucchini, squash, and carrots into long thin strips (“ribbons”).

Instructions

  1. Using a vegetable peeler or mandoline, shave the zucchini, squash, and carrots into long thin strips (“ribbons”). Thinly slice the asparagus on a diagonal.
  2. Fill a small saucepan with water, and bring a boil over high heat. Carefully add in the sliced asparagus, and boil for 1-2 minutes, until the asparagus turns bright green. Using a slotted spoon, remove the asparagus and immediately place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Let sit for a minute, then drain the water, and toss the asparagus with the zucchini, squash and carrots in a large bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and drizzle over the vegetables. Toss to coat. Garnish with the pecorino or parmesan shavings. Serve.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

 

Ali’s Tip:

Make sure that your vegetables are nice and dry before trying to shave them. Otherwise, you could accidentally slip and cut your hand with the vegetable peeler! Feel free to also hold them in one hand with a towel, while peeling with your other hand.

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9 comments on “Summer Vegetable “Ribbon” Salad”

  1. I too have lived without cable for about 2 years. Every time we visit someone’s house (who let’s me watch their TV) I am instantly glued to the Food Network…so addicting! I have to say one of my favorite parts of watching the shows is to just get to imagine for a second what it would be like to have a fabulous kitchen like the kitchens they cook in. They are huge (and beautiful, of course)! This dish looks amazing btw. I love fresh veggies. I will have to give this a whirl in the near future! Thanks for sharing!

  2. Pretty! I’ll have to try that with my garden veggies!

  3. This salad looks so festive! Definitely must try it. Thanks for adding the picture of the vegetable peeler doing its work, by the way – I’ve never done anything like this before, so that will make for a helpful guide!

  4. I think I’ll make this salad to accompany the three pizzas my son has requested for his 5th birthday party.

    We also don’t have cable and watch everything online. There’s a website called surfthechannel.com that has every show (even premium cable shows like Dexter). The site itself doesn’t host the videos, but has links to them. I’m sure someone is doing something illegal, but I still watch Mad Men through the site. New shows are usually available one day after airing.

  5. This salad looks great! I made a similar zucchini ribbon salad to serve with fish a few weeks back and had completely forgotten about it… I’ll have to give your version a try!

  6. I tried making a salad just like this one, but really overjudged the size of my zucchini etc versus my veggie peeler; this made it difficult and my slices were not as I had planned, but looks like you have perfect execution! Beautiful! :)

  7. I love salad… it’s much better if you add some chips!!!

  8. It look good I am going to try it






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