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Please Fave the Original Submission here.

This is another interesting Italian dish from !

Open For Critique / Constructive Criticism

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Another dish from wuffy's Challenge luncheon for his Air Force folks. "Crudi" basically means "raw", and this lovely light salad features raw zucchini and asparagus as its basis.

This delicious and easy salad was suggested by another wonderful chef here on FA, BlimpWolf BlimpWolf, head of Full Moon Kitchens. Thank you!

Vrghr's interpretation of this dish isn't quite the "traditional" version. The look is a bit different, but the taste is very similar.

Normally, the zucchini are sliced into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler or mandolin. Vrghr did use the mandolin, but set it to slice very thin "noodles" instead of flat strips. And wuff cut his asparagus into longer sections. Next time, Vrghr will slice those thinner, and on a slant (bias) to let them combine better with the salad, and to provide a nice presentation.

Vrghr also added a couple non-traditional ingredients to pop up the flavors a bit more: Capers and fresh basil. And a wee bit of Cane Vinegar, since this wuff's taste test told him there wasn't quite enough lemon to brighten it properly, and Vrghr's pantry was empty of more lemons.

It is important to use good olive oil for this. This should be your "salad oil", not your "cooking oil". You should smell lovely, fresh olives when you open the bottle of oil. And you should enjoy tasting the oil right out of the bottle, and look forward to dipping fresh bread into a saucer of it. If it smells more like vegetable oil with faint olive touches, and you really don't want to dip a finger in it and suck on that, then you don't want to use it for this dish.

Cane Vinegar is just a vinegar made with sugar cane as its base. It is similar to cider vinegar in complexity and substance, but without the apple aroma and flavor. A nice cider, or even better, champagne vinegar would work too.

With a salad this simple, the fresher the ingredients, the better. Look for the smaller, "pencil size" asparagus and the smaller zucchini for more tender, sweet, flavorful results.

The cheese is important too. Pecorino Ramano is similar to Parmesan; a hard, robustly, sharply flavored cheese. It is a sheep's-milk cheese, saltier and more pungent than Parmesan, which is a nice touch with this salad. But Parmigiano Reggiano (cow's milk cheese) is a good substitute. DON'T use the bottled, graded, cheese-flavored sawdust marketed as "Parmesan" for this! Buy yourself a wedge of the "good stuff" and shave or grate it yourself this time!

The ingredients below made enough salad for 10-15 folks. You probably want to cut these back some.

Ingredients:

6 small, fresh zucchini (leave the skin on)
1 bunch (about a pound) thin, fresh Asparagus
1 wedge (about a pound) Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved or grated (can sub. Parmigiano Reggiano)
1 Lemon (zest and juice)
1 bunch (about 4 oz) Fresh Basil
2 Tbs Capers & 2 Tbs of the bottled juice
~3 Tbs good Olive Oil
~2 tsp Cane Vinegar (can sub Champagne or Cider vinegar) (OPTIONAL)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Trim any woody ends from the Asparagus (may not be needed if it is young and tender enough).
(Optional) In a large pot of salted, rapidly boiling water, blanch the Asparagus by plunging it into the boiling water for 90 seconds, then immediately removing it to a bowl of cold/ice water to stop the cooking (brightens them to a lovely bright green!)
Slice the asparagus into small sections, or on the bias (slanted) in ~1/8 inch slivers.

Trim the ends off the zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, or mandolin, slice the zucchini lengthwise into very thin ribbons or 1/8 inch 'noodles'.

Remove the thick stems from the Basil, and slice the leaves into small shreds.

Combine the Basil, Zucchini and Asparagus in a large bowl. Zest the lemon over the veggies.

In another bowl, whisk together the dressing of Lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and capers with their juice. If using, whisk in the vinegar.

Pour the dressing over the veggies, grind on some fresh black Pepper, Grate the cheese onto the top, and toss to combine. (You might want to shave a few pieces of cheese and set them aside as garnish for the individual servings.)

Plate in individual serving bowl and garish if desired with reserved shaved cheese.

DEVOUR!

Note: This can be made a day in advance, but the zucchini will give up a lot of moisture. Pour off the excess before plating, and grate the cheese and black pepper on just prior to serving for maximum freshness of flavors.

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Allergy warning – please read all recipes carefully and be aware of any allergies or sensitivities that may affect your health and well-being