Zucchini Salad

Still summer, still taking it easy and eating salads like this one.

This instructions for this salad looked to be about as difficult as I was going to attempt on the 31°C day I tried making it. Sadly, though the salad was very tasty, it was more difficult to make than I was led to believe. And I would be hard pressed to convince anyone that this was a salad. It was a great side dish, though.

Slicing the zucchini was no trouble. Getting the slices onto a baking sheet and salting them was easy. Getting the zucchini off the sheet was troublesome. They stuck and because it took so long to get them to be slightly browned (I was checking the image on the original recipe), they were quite soft. I had to lift/scrape them off the sheet with an offset spatula.

So! Next time, I will toss the zucchini in a bit of oil before roasting them. Or I’ll fry them in a pan on the stove. And maybe I will slice the pieces to 1/2″ thick instead of 1/4″. I will for sure continue to use rice wine vinegar instead of the white wine vinegar called for in the recipe because I already stock five other kinds of vinegar and don’t want to be known as the ‘crazy lady who owns all that vinegar’. It could happen.

Here’s how it went.

Got the zucchini.

Zucchinis.

Sliced the zucchini and placed it on a baking sheet.

Sliced and placed on a baking sheet.

Salted the zucchini.

Salted.

While the zucchini is overcooking, made the dressing. Some vegetable oil…

Vegetable oil.

…with some rice wine vinegar…

Pouring in the rice wine vinegar (a whatfoodimade action shot™!).

… and the black pepper.

Add the pepper.

Combined.

Combine the dressing.

Finally got the zucchini to look the way I thought they should.

Slightly roasted zucchini.

Tossed the zucchini with the dressing.

Tossed with oil and vinegar.

Zucchini Salad.

Zucchini Salad.

From the New York Times:
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3660-zucchini-salad

Zucchini Salad
Yield: 6 servings
Time: 12 minutes

This exquisitely simple recipe from Jacques Pépin first appeared in The Times in 1991, and couldn’t be easier. The zucchini is gently roasted until tender, then tossed with salt, pepper, white wine vinegar and oil. It’s the perfect treatment for almost any summer squash.

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
4 tablespoons corn or safflower oil

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash the zucchini, trim and discard the ends, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Arrange the rounds in one layer on a large cookie sheet and sprinkle them with the salt. Place in oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until they soften slightly.

Transfer the rounds to a bowl and toss them lightly with the pepper, vinegar and oil. Serve immediately.