A fresh and light dish, the raw zucchini salad with lemon and grana is a summer recipe without cooking, perfect for an original appetizer or a tasty side dish. The preparation takes just 10 minutes, allowing you to serve a dish with a tantalizing flavor, ideal for the hottest days when appetite is scarce and you don’t want to turn on the stove. As in the zucchini carpaccio, in this recipe, the zucchini is sliced very thinly with a mandoline, to achieve a crunchy and pleasant texture. They are then marinated with extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, and lemon juice, while fresh mint leaves give an irresistible aroma. Completing this summer salad are flakes of grana or parmesan and a handful of pumpkin seeds, which add crunchiness and an extra touch of flavor. The raw zucchini salad with lemon and grana is the ideal solution for a light, nutritious, and tasty meal. Perfect as a side dish for barbecues of meat or fish, to garnish summer bruschettas or to serve for a cold dinner. Try it and let yourself be won over by the freshness of this simple and genuine recipe!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Without cooking
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 121.09 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 3.45 (g) of which sugars 0.23 (g)
- Proteins 5.21 (g)
- Fat 10.65 (g) of which saturated 1.39 (g)of which unsaturated 1.51 (g)
- Fibers 1.34 (g)
- Sodium 100.52 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the zucchini salad with lemon and grana
- 12.3 oz zucchini
- 1/2 lemon (juice only)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste Grana Padano flakes (or Parmesan cheese)
- A few leaves mint
- to taste pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts)
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Mandoline
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Salad bowl
How to prepare raw zucchini salad with lemon and grana
To prepare the raw zucchini salad, you will need very fresh zucchini. Wash them, dry them, and trim the ends. Then slice them with a mandoline (1). If you don’t have one, you can use a knife, but make sure to get very thin slices (2).
Place them in a salad bowl and season with oil, salt, fresh chopped mint, and lemon juice (3). Mix well and let marinate for at least 10 minutes, so the lemon juice slightly softens the zucchini. Add the pumpkin seeds or pine nuts and the grana or parmesan flakes (4). You can easily achieve these using a peeler. Mix well to evenly distribute all ingredients (5).
Serve the raw zucchini salad with lemon and grana immediately, as an appetizer or as a tasty side dish.
Storage
You can store the raw zucchini salad in the refrigerator, in a glass container, for a couple of days.
Tips and variations
If you prefer, instead of lemon juice, you can use one or two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
