Are you a zucchini fan? Have you ever had it in a salad? I think most people are used to eating it sauteed, in bread or muffin, or maybe deep-fried, but its really yummy in many different ways. One of my favorite ways to use zucchini is to make zucchini pizza crust. I also love these zucchini parmesan crisps and these zucchini chaffles. As you can see from the back links, I’ve made a lot of zucchini recipes over the years. But I’ve rarely ever used zucchini raw. So, I figured it was time to try a new healthy and delicious salad recipe and that’s how this raw zucchini salad recipe came to be.

This cold zucchini salad recipe is super easy to make and really quite delicious. I don’t know about you, but I often get tired of eating the same green salad. I need to change up my greens often. Normally, I prefer to use arugula over most other greens because it adds a lot more texture and flavor than other greens. For me, romaine or iceberg are just so boring. That’s why I usually go for arugula. But, even that is starting to get boring after using it for the last couple of years. Zucchini makes a really nice change in terms of texture and taste in a salad. 

One time, I made a raw asparagus salad, and I’d say this is somewhat similar, but the texture is still different. I also love this recipe because lemon vinaigrette is my favorite. I also love the addition of pistachios in this recipe. They add a nice sweetness and crunch against the kick of the lemon and the salty parmesan cheese.

If you’ve never made a zucchini ribbon salad before, don’t be intimidated by how it looks. It’s actually so easy to make. You simply need to get a Y-shaped vegetable peeler and you can easily accomplish the pretty ribbons like I did. I actually ate all of the scrap pieces of zucchini (the green ends) with the leftover dressing. This might be my new favorite salad recipe, it’s that good. I also think I will use this dressing recipe again and again because it’s so easy and so yummy.

Shaved Zucchini Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
Salt and freshly ground pepper 
2 pounds small, firm zucchini, very thinly sliced lengthwise using a vegetable peeler or mandoline 
1/3 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons lightly salted roasted pistachios

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Clean your zucchinis and then create ribbons using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler. To make the ribbons, cut off the top and bottom, and peel one of the long sides to remove the green. Once you have peeled to reveal the white/green inner part the width of your peeler, then you can make the ribbons. Once you have enough ribbons, it’s time to dress your zucchini salad.

Add the zucchini to a large bowl and toss in the dressing. Add the Parmesan and the pistachios and toss again. Plate the zucchini salad and then you can add additional pistachios, pepper and parmesan, as desired.