Zucchini Carpaccio

This amazingly delicious dish is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The few ingredients in this recipe elevate raw zucchini to a whole new level. I will definitely be creating numerous variations of this in the future.

The original recipe, out of the new cookbook from The FairShareCSA Coalition in Madison, Wisconsin (those who brought us the wonderful From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook that we carried in the past), called for pine nuts, which I didn’t have, so I used toasted pepitas instead. 

Ingredients

1 large or two small zucchini
juice of half a lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
3T. pepitas (or pine nuts), toasted
olive oil
honey
salt

Preparation

1. Using a mandoline or a cheese plane (or even a good vegetable peeler), slice paper thin sheets of zucchini and arrange them on paper towels, salting and layering with additional paper towels. Let sit 20-30 minutes. The recipe said to blot the liquid off, but skip this and proceed to my added step below.

2. Roll the layers of zucchini and paper towel and squeeze out all the liquid. I was astounded by how much water came out of it. 

3. Carefully unroll and remove the zucchini slices from the paper towels, arranging them in a low-sided serving dish. The recipe didn’t specify how to arrange them, so I kind of bunched them so they could be removed easily. Sprinkle the garlic and nuts over the top and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Again, the recipe didn’t specify whether to whisk the oil and juice together, so I didn’t because that’s an extra step, and I’m lazy. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes. The longer it marinates, the better it tastes.

4. Just before serving, drizzle honey over it. Serve with crackers or good bread. Great with a meat and cheese board. Next time, I might add some good salty, hard cheese. Mmmm.