summer salads 7

summer salads 7

I love summertime produce! When summer veggies are in season they already have tons of flavor on their own, so there really isn’t much you need to do to make them better. If you have a farmer’s market near you, I highly suggest going out of your way to try out the produce.  You will taste a huge difference! When I was recently at my local farmer’s market they had beautiful yellow zucchini (aka summer squash), but not the kind you are used to seeing, these were shaped like little balls (picture below). They have the same taste, just a different shape!  You can also use green zucchini in this recipe.

Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs! People seem to feel very strongly one way or the other about cilantro.  I think it tastes bright and fresh! It adds a beautiful herbaceous flavor to any dish. If you haven’t tried it in a while, then I recommend trying it out again.  One of my favorite things to pair with cilantro is citrus, specifically limes.  The two just seem to work so well together. You seem them paired in things like guacamole, fish taco, and even cocktails.

The summer squash in this salad is mild and slightly sweet. Adding in the citrus and cilantro creates a refreshing brightness to it. To finish off this salad I like to add lemon pepper.  It’s slightly savory with a peppery bite.  This is a free form salad…meaning you can add more of what you like and less of what you don’t like.  I add lemon to almost everything in my life so I like to add lemon to this as well! This is a really pretty salad that looks fancy, but is actually very simple to make!

summer salads 13

summer salads 13

summer salads 20

summer salads 20

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summer salads 18

summer salads 18

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summer salads 15

summer salads 11

summer salads 11

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summer salads 9

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summer salads 17

summer salads 2

summer salads 2

Zucchini, Cilantro, and Citrus Summer Salad

Author:

Maria Provenzano

Ingredients

  • 2-3 large summer squash or zucchini

  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh cilantro; chopped

  • 1 lemon

  • 1 lime

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper; add more to taste

Instructions

  1. *Chop the summer squash or zucchini into bite size pieces; I like to cut away the inside seeds

  2. *Place in a large bowl

  3. *Add in the lemon pepper and toss

  4. *Toss in the cilantro

  5. *Squeeze in the juice of the lime and half of the lemon

  6. *Toss together

  7. *Taste and adjust flavors as needed; I like to add more of everything! This will depend on the flavors you like AND how fresh the produce is