Green Salads

Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Zucchini has a reputation for being watery and dull, which is entirely a cooking problem. Sliced lengthwise into wide ribbons and grilled hard, it loses its moisture, concentrates, and picks up smoke — suddenly it is the best thing on the table. Dressed warm with lemon and mint so it drinks up the acid, then finished with toasted almonds and salty ricotta salata, this is the salad that converts people who thought they hated courgette. It also holds beautifully for a couple of hours, which makes it a genuinely good thing to bring somewhere.

Grilled Zucchini Ribbon Salad
10 minPrep time
15 minCook time
25 minTotal time
4Servings
210Kcal / serving

Ingredients

  • 4 medium zucchini
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • Large handful mint leaves, torn
  • 40g flaked almonds, toasted
  • 50g ricotta salata or feta, shaved
  • Pinch chili flakes
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions

  1. Slice into ribbons

    Trim the zucchini and slice lengthwise into ribbons about 5mm thick — a mandoline or a steady knife both work. Toss with 1 tbsp of the oil and a good pinch of salt.

  2. Grill hard

    Heat a griddle pan or barbecue until very hot. Grill the ribbons in batches, 2–3 minutes per side, until you have dark bar marks and they have softened. Do not crowd the pan.

  3. Dress while warm

    Whisk the remaining oil with the lemon juice, zest, garlic and a pinch of salt. Lay the hot ribbons on a platter and spoon the dressing over while they are still warm so they absorb it.

  4. Finish

    Scatter over the mint, toasted almonds, shaved ricotta salata and chili flakes. Grind over black pepper and serve warm or at room temperature.

Pair it with the Summer Pesto Pasta Salad for a vegetarian spread, or add grilled halloumi to make it a meal. See How to Build a Salad for the warm-dressing principle.

The EasySaladBowl secretSalt the ribbons before grilling, not after. Ten minutes of salt draws out surface water, which means the zucchini chars instead of steaming on the griddle.

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