Poof…I’m back! It’s CSA season, and in July, that means zucchini. And a lot of ’em. One of my favorite ways to prepare zucchini is inspired by a classic appetizer from The Red Cat. When I was working my way through grad school in my 20s, my evenings and weekends were spent hostessing at The Red Cat, a friendly restaurant in NYC’s Chelsea. One of the perks of being a hostess was that at the end of our shift, we could order up to $22 off the menu (in lieu of tips – It was my kind of deal). After my glass of wine, I had about $15 dollars left to spend on food, and most nights, I used part of that to buy their Sauteed Zucchini with Toasted Almonds and Pecorino. I’ve used this dish as an inspiration many-a-time, and I was jonesing for it after getting 5 pieces of zucchini in last night’s CSA share. I took many liberties with the original recipe, which calls for pecorino and almonds. I only had parmigiano and walnuts, which worked fine. I also wanted to work in some onions, chives, and garlic (all which came in last night’s CSA box as well), so I did.
Warm Zucchini Salad
- 2-3 pieces of zucchini, julienned (I shredded tonight in the Cuisinart. It went okay (maybe a little wattery). In the future I might take the extra time to julienne properly.)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- chives
- Walnuts, roasted
- Parmigiano, shaved
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
- Saute the onion and garlic in some olive oil until soft and fragrant
- Add zucchini, salt and pepper; saute for no more than 1-2 minutes
- Toss with walnuts, plate, and top with shaved parmigiano
Beautiful! So nice to have you back!!
So glad to hear from you. This looks so tasty. I think I’ll definitely have to make me a dairy-free version.
Love the ingredients and presentation. Have you considered adding a grain of some sort? It could be a meal all its own.
This looks awesome. Visiting my parents in western NY state this week and they have zucchinis coming out of their ears! Really! I am going to relieve them of their burden tonight:) So happy to have this seasonal post. Great pic.
Wow, this looks pretty unbelievably delicious. We always have Zucchini so I will attempt this soon!
Looks so good! I love the addition of the walnuts!
I love zucchini. I get lots of it from a friend who has a surplus from her gardens every year, but I’m tired of eating it the same way all the time. I really don’t like getting tired of foods I love! I will definitely be trying this recipe as soon as I get more zucchini.
I’m also glad you used walnuts instead of almonds because I like those better and I otherwise wouldn’t have thought to swap. Thanks for the recipe!
I like zucchini, taste very fresh. thanks for shared,
i will try semeday…