‘Tis the season for many friends to offer zucchini “free to a good home” on social media. I have such a home and jumped on a similar post, so I drove to Kirkwood to pick up quite possibly the largest zucc I’ve ever seen – more baseball bat than vegetable. Thanks to a recent lunch at Olio, it was destined for a home run (see what I did there?).
Olio’s zucchini carpaccio is made with preserved lemon and herb oil. With five ingredients at your disposal, there’s room to play here: add minced fresh herbs or try different nuts (toasted walnuts, hazelnuts or pepitas would be great). The trick is to thinly shave the zucchini with a decent vegetable peeler. This is a quintessential summer dish, perfect with some crusty bread and glass of white wine.
Zucchini Carpaccio
Inspired by a dish at Olio
4 to 6 servings
2 medium zucchini
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
½ cup shaved Parmesan or pecorino cheese
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Drizzle of olive oil, for serving
• Trim the ends of the zucchini and use a vegetable peeler to shave them into thin ribbons, discarding the first and last peelings that are mostly skin.
• Toss the zucchini ribbons in a colander with the salt and let drain 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Blot the zucchini dry with paper towels and layer them in a shallow baking dish.
• Tuck the garlic slices between the layers and sprinkle with the lemon juice and lemon zest. Cover with plastic and marinate at least 15 minutes.
• Remove and discard the garlic. Place the zucchini in a shallow serving bowl and top with Parmesan, pine nuts, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil immediately.
Dee Ryan is a longtime contributor to Sauce Magazine and regularly pens Make This.
This article appears in July 2017.