Zucchini Salad with Lemon, Ricotta and Herbs

At Masseria Potenti in Puglia, Italy, Maria Grazia Di Lauro served an elegant first course of raw zucchini ribbons wrapped around a lemony ricotta filling, the open ends dipped in nutty toasted sesame seeds. This salad is a much-simplified version of that starter. We macerate the zucchini slices in the dressing for about 15 minutes before assembling the dish. This softens the raw edge, making the texture more silky and less crunchy, and also allows the zucchini to absorb flavor.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of oil, the lemon juice, honey, 2 tablespoons of chives and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the zucchini and toss. Let stand for about 15 minutes, tossing once or twice. In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta, the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the lemon zest, ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Step 2

2. Taste the zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with the almonds and the remaining 2 tablespoons chives, then drizzle with additional oil.

Step 3

Don’t skip the step of seeding the zucchini. If left in place, the seeds and the spongy area around them will turn the salad watery and dilute. Seed each zucchini half as you would a cucumber half—using a spoon, scrape down the length of the center of the vegetable.