Broiled Zucchini Ribbon Salad

I'm sneaking this in before the last remnants of summer completely sneak away. I've been meaning to post this dish all season since I've made it so many times that it's embarrassing to say and even more impossible to calculate.

I first made this salad when the inspiring Simran gifted me what has become one of my favorite (and at times most treacherous) kitchen tools: the mandoline. I wanted to ribbon and shred everything. I owned a (much more expensive) mandoline before, but it was clunky and difficult to use. This one is elegant, easy to use...and featured on Ratatouille! Just be extremely careful with your precious digits, I've had my own severe accident...or two.

To put my mandoline to good use, Simran sent me a recipe, "...thin strips of zucchini under the broiler then mixed with lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, capers, olives, roasted red pepper, roasted tomatoes, s&p." I ended up making many variations of this salad all season long; the broiled olive oiled zucchini ribbons dressed with lemon and salt alone is brilliant. I also started playing around with broiling everything instead of baking. Pita chips: broiler. Green beans and shallots: broiler. Crispy tofu: broiler. Zucchini ribbons: broiler!

Although this salad is amazing in its simplest form, here is my ultimate favorite variation. I've enjoyed it alone as a meal, wrapped up in a toasted tortilla, served as a side to guests, mixed in with dill and quinoa - just some ideas.

INGREDIENTS
zucchini (2 per person) thinly and uniformly ribboned; a little thicker than paper thin
cherry tomatoes halved
olive oil
coarse salt I use ground pink Himalayan or Kosher
black cured olives cut into pieces; I use kitchen scissors
capers
lemon

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss the zucchini and tomatoes separately with olive oil and salt.
2. Lay zucchini out on baking sheets; don't overlap otherwise they'll cook unevenly. Then lay the tomatoes out on a baking sheet.
3. Pop your sheets in the oven, broil on high and watch closely since broiling burns food easily. Every broiler is different, but make sure you only use the one rack closest to the heat. Cook until just golden. 
4. Toss zucchini and tomatoes together with lemon, olives, capers.

That's it! Enjoy with the last bit of zucchini you have left!

xo, J

Crispy Tofu & Peppery Shaved Celery

This is based on a dish from Mark Bittman's 101 Summer Salads. I've had this list magneted to our fridge for almost a year, but its recipes truly shine during the summer. I've tried about a dozen of these salads, and so far, they vary in greatness. But man, the tasty ones are so brilliant, it's worth some trial and error to sniff them out. The genius of these salads is their SIMPLICITY; their minimalist ingredients, instruction, and effort. Bittman gives you a great starting place and it's playtime from there. I had a lot of fun with this one. The celery is a refreshing crunchy contrast to the warm crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside tofu. It's filling, a standalone meal. You could throw in some orange juice and zest for the tofu glaze, serve over rice/quinoa or by itself.

INGREDIENTS
celery (1 stalk bunch) sliced a little thicker than paper thin; I use my mandolin for this, but can be done by hand or maybe with food processor attachment
organic (preferably sprouted) extra firm tofu (15.5 oz) pressed between paper towels with weight on top for at least 30 minutes to soak up the water (this allows the tofu to crisp up and absorb flavor better), then diced into small cubes
peanut or olive oil (1 T) or as much as you want; I always use as little oil as I can get away with
peanuts (1/3 cup) crushed
chili flakes (1/4 t)
freshly ground Szichuan or regular peppercorns
tamari or soy sauce
toasted sesame seeds
lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat some oil and tamari together. Spread the diced tofu out on a baking sheet then brush them with oil/tamari mixture. Pop in the oven and broil until golden crispy.
2. In the meantime, heat up oil in a small saucepan until slippery, then add red chili flakes to infuse the oil. After a minute or so, add the crushed peanuts and stir until golden and aromatic.
3. Toss shaved celery, sesame seeds, spicy peanuts, crispy tofu, fresh ground pepper, and tamari together, finish with squeezed lemon to taste.

Enjoy! xo, J