Hurry!  Make this!  I see autumn food on the horizon, encroaching quickly!  If you have any zucchini left in your garden, or if you come across some at the Farmer’s Market, grab a few and make this for an easy. fast, fresh lunch.  I came up with this recipe a couple weeks ago when I had zucchini overtaking my garden.  I had to get creative with how to use it all without overdosing on zucchini bread.

You will need one special tool for this recipe, but it’s cheap and you can get one at any kitchen supply store.  It’s called a julienne peeler, and it’s what makes your ribbons of zucchini for your salad.  And this is how it works…

So here’s the recipe:

Zucchini Salad with Comte Cheese, Pine Nuts, and Herbs

Serves 1 very nicely, or 2 people if you’re serving as a side dish

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini or 2 small
• 1-2 oz. Comte cheese (or a chunk of Parmesan, or Swiss, or even goat’s cheese.  Whatever you have.)
• a handful of toasted pine nuts (toast in a dry skillet for a couple minutes, but watch!  They burn quickly.)
• a couple leaves each of mint and basil, chopped

Dressing:

• a squirt of Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. maple syrup or honey
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Right, super easy.  Julienne your zucchini(s) into your serving bowl, just as shown above.  I like to julienne the zucchini until you get to the seeds in the middle.  Then I just rotate the zucchini and continue peeling on all 4 sides.  You’ll be left with a skinny, floppy middle that you can feed to your guinea pig.
• Crumble your cheese into the bowl.
• Add the pine nuts and herbs.
• Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Want it sweeter?  Add more maple syrup or honey.  More piquant you say?  Get generous with the mustard.  You get the idea.
• Pour dressing over the zucchini, smulch together, and voila- lunch fit for someone as fab as your bad self.

Here is my experience eating my zucchini salad.  Enjoy.