Zucchini Salad

Frying the zucchini

1. Choose small zucchini for the salad, so you can cut them into cubes small enough to cook through quickly, or stay just slightly firm, which is the best result. You need very young cucumbers and ripe, small cocktail or cherry tomatoes.

2. Put a bunch of lettuce or romaine in cold water ahead of time so the leaves stay crisp.

   

3. Wash the zucchini and dry them well. Cut off the ends.

4. Cut each zucchini lengthwise into four, then across into cubes. If the pieces are too big they will not cook through and will be noticeably raw inside, say, al dente. But as they cool, the residual heat will finish cooking them.

5. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan. There should be enough to almost completely cover the zucchini pieces.

   

6. Dredge the pieces in flour. After frying, this gives the zucchini a little color.

7. Very carefully transfer the pieces to the well-heated oil. Be careful, hot oil can splatter. There must not be even a hint of water drops while frying.

8. Stirring the pieces with a fork or spatula, fry them in the oil for 3-4 mins, until they begin to brown and are easily pierced with the tip of a knife. The fried zucchini cubes hold their shape well, but do not overcook them until completely soft.

9. Line a plate with a paper towel and put the fried zucchini pieces on it. Wait until they cool, and only then continue with the salad. The zucchini salad is served at room temperature, and as the pieces cool they will soften a little more.

   

Preparing the herbs and vegetables

1. Wash a bunch of fresh salad greens thoroughly, such as lettuce, romaine or any other that is not bitter, and pat dry.

2. Tear the leaves into pieces with your fingers, discarding the tough central ribs. Pick the leaves off the basil sprigs and tear them too.

3. Slice the green onion as for any salad. Mix all the greens in a bowl.

   

4. Spread the greens over large plates, covering the whole surface. This makes a bed of greens for the zucchini and vegetable salad.

5. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. It is better to peel the cucumbers and dice them twice as large as for Olivier salad.

6. Put the vegetables in a bowl and add the completely cooled fried zucchini.

7. Add just a little fine salt. Add pepper and 1-2 pinches of dried oregano. Add coarsely ground sweet paprika, which gives a note of sweet pepper flavor. I deliberately did not add fresh pepper, because it is too firm and stands out among the delicate vegetables.

   

Assembling and dressing

1. Gently toss the fried zucchini salad with the vegetables. The vegetables hardly release any juice, so the salad is almost dry.

2. Gently pile the zucchini and vegetables on top of the leaves and herbs.

3. In a small bowl, mix 3-4 tbsp of the best olive oil with 0.5 tsp of balsamic vinegar. Whisk with a fork and pour over the salad. Do not toss.

   

4. The zucchini salad is ready to serve. As I said, it is better not to chill it but to serve it at room temperature. That brings out the flavor and aroma of the vegetables best, especially if the tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs come straight from the garden. By the way, I have noticed that simple, tasty vegetable recipes work best when the vegetables have just been picked.

   

   You can happily add other vegetables to the salad if you like. For example, diced fried eggplant, roasted sweet pepper, or pickled sweet onion instead of balsamic vinegar. You can add a little minced garlic to the dressing. If the salad is used as a side dish, you can add spicy ingredients too: Korean-style carrots will vary the flavor and give the side a piquant touch.