Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes With Red Pepper Dressing
Published July 26, 2016
Danny Ghitis for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 pounds zucchini or summer squash, sliced lengthwise ⅛-inch thick
½ cup roughly chopped roasted red pepper (see note)
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Maras pepper flakes, Korean pepper flakes or sweet paprika
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved and lightly salted
A few fresh oregano leaves and flowers, for garnish, or a few small basil leaves
Parsley leaves, for garnish
Olives, for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
9 grams carbs; 124 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 10 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 559 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 5 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Working in batches, blanch zucchini strips for 1 minute, then remove with a spider or slotted spoon and spread on a kitchen towel-lined baking sheet to cool.
- Step 2
Make the dressing: Put roasted red pepper, garlic, oil, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, Maras pepper and cayenne in a blender and purée until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust acidity with a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar.
- Step 3
Arrange zucchini and cherry tomatoes on a platter. Drizzle judiciously with dressing (reserve excess dressing for up to a week) and garnish with oregano, parsley and olives.
You can use store-bought roasted red peppers here, but to roast a red bell pepper at home, halve it vertically and remove seeds and stem. Push down each half to flatten. Lay on a baking sheet skin side up and broil until skins are blackened completely, about 5 minutes. Rub off skin with paper towel (do not rinse).
Private Notes
Comments
I used some fresh oregano leaves, which I think complement the dressing. You may need to up the acid a little in the dressing. Otherwise it's delicious, and leftovers can be tossed into a salad very successfully. And leftover dressing is excellent on cold boiled potatoes with some celery and chopped green onion and sliced sweet red bell pepper for a delicious potato salad.
Re: roasting red peppers. I do exact same thing as above, but once peppers are completely blackened, I place them in a brown paper lunch bag and roll the top shut. Let peppers steam and cool down in the bag. The skins peels off like a breeze.
I used roasted red peppers from a jar, and the dressing was excellent. Blanching the zucchini strips resulted in a lovely tender-crisp texture. We added kalamata olives and chunks of mild feta.
I thought this recipe was pretty mediocre and cut my thumb on the mandolin resulting in two urgent care visits. Be sure to take proper precautions with the mandolin!
Simple, and not earth-shattering, but tasty use of summer produce. I sautéed my zucchini because it wasn’t young & tender. Served with a chiffonade of basil and added some steamed potatoes to make a light lunch. I’m not even a fan of roasted red peppers but here they made a nice sauce better than the sum of its parts.
I had a very large zucchini and cut it into batons. By doing so I could blanch all at once instead of in batches. A slightly different look and still as visually appealing appealing.