ZUCCHINI-AND-FENNEL SALAD WITH PECORINO AND MINT

Zucchini-and-Fennel Salad With Pecorino and Mint image

In 2007, if you were looking for a sign of the culinary times, you could do no better than the one prominently displayed in San Francisco, in my local Übermarket for the conscientious shopper: "Organic Summer Squash, $3.99 a pound." Our growing food fetishization created a new produce category: luxury squash. I was disturbed but also intrigued: perhaps familiarity had blinded me to squash's delicate charms - at these prices it clearly deserved more than a typically bland sauté or a quick turn on the grill. Given its etymology (the word "squash" comes from a Native American word meaning "eaten raw"), maybe it shouldn't be cooked at all. So I swallowed hard, bought some zucchini and shaved them into a salad with fennel, mint and pecorino, which made a delicious and interesting starter.

Provided by Daniel Patterson

Categories easy, quick, salads and dressings

Time 10m

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds zucchini
1/2 cup torn mint leaves
1 cup shaved aged pecorino Romano
1 small head fennel, cored and thinly shaved
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Use a vegetable peeler or mandoline to thinly shave the zucchini lengthwise. In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini, mint, pecorino Romano, fennel, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Add more lemon juice or olive oil to taste.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 237, UnsaturatedFat 9 grams, Carbohydrate 12 grams, Fat 16 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 13 grams, SaturatedFat 7 grams, Sodium 589 milligrams, Sugar 6 grams