What’s your favorite salad?
The zucchini salad combines summer flavors with lentils which, in Italy, are usually associated with winter and, for this reason, remain forgotten in the pantry for months (what a shame!). I hope you will try it, I enjoyed developing this recipe and even more eating it.
Salad is a recipe.
The Italian food historian Massimo Montanari said that the name “salad” doesn’t really identify a food, but a way of preparing it or of seasoning it.
While you are preparing a simple salad you are already cooking.
The art of cooking is not to be confused and totally identified with the action of cooking.
You can cook assembling raw ingredients as well as toasting a slice of bread is not necessarily cooking.
For me the action contemplated by the verb to cook begins while I am shopping food or when I’m looking for the inspiration among the market stalls.
After thinking about which recipe I want to make, the action of cooking moves to the physical place that is its proper, the kitchen, and ends only with the sharing of food on the table.
The culinary art is also assembly of raw ingredients.
A simple salad is one recipe among many.
And the fact that it’s an easy preparation or doesn’t necessarily require heat and pots doesn’t have to make you waver. Every time you think about how to combine the ingredients to turn your shopping list into a recipe, you are a cook.
My fav salads fave to be beautiful.
Don’t get me wrong, taste first. But over time I realized that to entice me, colors and presentation are important.
For example, if I think of tomatoes and basil salad needs just a beautiful bowl to add one last detail that will make a difference.
Raw zucchini salad and friends.
Now I’ll tell you my last salad recipe.
Take lentils, a food generally associated with the colder months.
Which is a shame because lentils with their unique flavor are perfect to make (also) a cold special salad.
I added lemon zest, I seasoned raw organic zucchini cut thinly, added sweet blueberries full of juice (you’ll feel when they explode in your mouth!), arugula slightly sour, tender green beans that you can replace with edamame or green beans cut into pieces.
Buona cucina, Monica
Cook with me.
Under the heading Legumes in the Ingredients section of the menu, I have gathered the recipes I do most often. Savory pies, soups and vegetable creams but also pâtés, sauces and an egg pasta with legume flour.
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Food Tip
You can use dried natural blueberries instead of fresh ones but first soak them in a cup of cold water for about half an hour.
Raw zucchini salad with aragula and lentils
serves 4
Ingredients
125 g green lentils
100 g organic blueberries
4 light organic zucchini
80 g broad beans or edamame or green beans
zest and juice of 1/2 organic lemon
aragula, 1 little bunch
olive oil and salt to taste
Directions
Cook the lentils in unsalted boiling water for about twenty minutes or until they are soft but al dente. If there is a soaking time, follow the instructions on the package.
When cooked, drain, wash and set aside.
Wash and dry all the other vegetables.
Cut the zucchini into thin slices with a peeler, season with oil, salt and lemon juice and set aside.
Always with the peeler, make thin slices of lemon zest.
Make the salad combining all the ingredients, season with salt and oil, stir gently and at last add the blueberries.
