Lemony Summer Squash Salad

While I have lots of favorite salads to serve at summer dinners, it’s always fun to find a new one.  My daughter Ellen asked me to bring a salad or two to a family dinner over Memorial Weekend. I wanted to bring a salad that I could assemble ahead of time.  And it had to complement the planned meal of grilled chicken and bell pepper kebabs. This Lemony Summer Squash Salad, which uses both green zucchini and yellow summer squash, turned out to be a perfect side dish.

I adapted this salad from a recipe by Martha Rose Shulman in the New York Times.  Shulman’s recipes are favorites of mine within the Times‘ Cooking collection.  She uses seasonal ingredients and easy preparation techniques that I like. Shulman states on her website that eating well means, “eating food that is delicious and that makes you feel good, food that is vibrant and light but by no means ascetic.”  Her approach to cooking resonates with me.

Fresh Squash Simply Prepared

I was fortunate to find smallish zucchini and yellow squash at the grocery store and had some lemons at home along with the required herbs.  The salad came together quite quickly and was a big hit. This salad, with its cheerful stripes of yellow and green, delivers a happy note to a picnic table.  It can be prepared hours ahead of time (and improves with those hours).

The summer squashes for this salad remain raw, but are “cooked” or softened by some time in a colander with salt.  I tried using a mandoline to thinly slice the squashes the first time I made the salad, but ended up preferring to use my vegetable peeler to create the strands.  I sliced my way around each of the squashes, leaving and composting the center spongy area.

After layering the raw strands of squash with salt, I let them sit for 30 minutes in a colander.  Then I rinsed the extra salt away and used a kitchen towel to blot dry the squash.

Adding Flavor Layers

At that point, the squash was ready to mix with its simple marinade of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and a smashed garlic clove. The dressed squash can sit in the refrigerate for 4-6 hours. It soaks up the sunny lemon flavor and hint of garlic during this time.  (I’ve had good results with letting the marinade soak in for as little as an hour though.)

When it’s time to serve, a sprinkle of finely chopped fresh herbs brings more color and flavorful notes to the salad.  I used chives, parsley, and mint.

I see this simple salad becoming a summer mainstay at our table.  Simple + tasty seems a good equation for the days ahead.

Lemony Summer Squash Salad

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

A quick-to-assemble make-ahead salad that celebrates yellow and green summer squash and bright lemony flavors

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Refrigeration time 4 hours hrs

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• ½ pound small to medium zucchini
• ½ pound small to medium yellow squash
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove peeled and smashed but left whole
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs—choose from parsley mint, chives, dill, or a combination (I used mint, parsley, and chives)

Instructions

 

• Using a vegetable peeler or a mandoline, slice the squash vertically as thinly as possible. (I cut each squash in half lenghthwise and then sliced the shorter pieces thinly.)
• Place the squash slices in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Use a fork to lift the squash strands and mix the salt around as well as possible. Let the salted squash sit for 15-30 minutes. Rinse the squash, then drain well on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
• Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, and crushed whole garlic clove together and allow to sit until you’re ready to mix the salad.
• Transfer the drained and dried squash to a medium bowl and toss with the lemon juice mixture to coat well. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. (I have marinated for it as little as an hour and it’s still good.)
• Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and lift the garlic clove out of the salad. Discard the garlic. Add the finely chopped fresh herbs right before serving. Taste for salt and pepper before serving.

Notes

You can use all green zucchini or all yellow summer squash, but the combination looks pretty. I used both a mandoline and a vegetable peeler and preferred the job that the vegetable peeler did. I turned the squash as I used the peeler and then discarded the spongy middle.

This recipe is adapted from “Marinated Zucchini Salad” by Martha Rose Shulman in the New York Times.