ZUCCHINI AND CHERRY TOMATOES WITH RED PEPPER DRESSING

Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes With Red Pepper Dressing image

Zucchini's inherent versatility is well known. It shows up in pastas, vegetable stews and can even be pickled. In this salad, thinly sliced zucchini is very briefly blanched, then paired with other summery ingredients and served at room temperature. Roast the red pepper yourself or use a quality brand from a jar.

Provided by David Tanis

Categories vegetables, appetizer, side dish

Time 30m

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

2 pounds zucchini or summer squash, sliced lengthwise 1/8-inch thick
1/2 cup roughly chopped roasted red pepper (see note)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Maras pepper flakes, Korean pepper flakes or sweet paprika
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved and lightly salted
A few fresh oregano leaves and flowers, for garnish, or a few small basil leaves
Parsley leaves, for garnish
Olives, for garnish

Steps:

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Working in batches, blanch zucchini strips for 1 minute, then remove with a spider or slotted spoon and spread on a kitchen towel-lined baking sheet to cool.
Make the dressing: Put roasted red pepper, garlic, oil, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, Maras pepper and cayenne in a blender and purée until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust acidity with a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar.
Arrange zucchini and cherry tomatoes on a platter. Drizzle judiciously with dressing (reserve excess dressing for up to a week) and garnish with oregano, parsley and olives.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 123, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 9 grams, Fat 10 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 3 grams, SaturatedFat 1 gram, Sodium 557 milligrams, Sugar 5 grams, TransFat 0 grams