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Simple Summer Salad: Zucchini “pasta” salad
Ingredients
Salad ingredients:
- 2 medium green zucchini , cut with a spiral slicer
- 2 cups thinly sliced cucumber
- 4 green onions , sliced
- 1 red bell pepper , diced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1/4 cup hemp or sesame seeds (optional but tasty)
- 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
Dressing ingredients:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice , fresh squeezed
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional:
- Salad Greens (I like this served over a bed of greens like baby aragula)
Instructions
Salad preparation:
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Cut the zucchini using spiral slicer and place in large salad bowl.
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Top with all other salad ingredients and toss.
Dressing preparation:
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Add avocado, olive oil and lemon or lime juice to blender.
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Blend until very smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper and give another quick whir.
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Alternatively, you can mash the avocado with a fork and then mix the ingredients very well in a bowl or shake, shake, shake them in a mason jar.
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Pour dressing over salad and stir to combine.
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If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to allow flavors to marry.
I’m linking this post up with Heather’s Raw Foods Thursdays over at Gluten-Free Cat. Click over there for lots of delicious recipes. If ever there was a time of year perfect for raw foods, this is it!
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I have a spiral slicer but have never used it. For a short while back in 2004, my husband and I flirted with a local RALF community. (RALF = Raw And Living Foods) The purchase of the slicer was part of our effort to tool up for raw foods prep, but we lost interest in the whole project when gut problems pushed us away from raw foods altogether 🙁
Now that we’re both gluten-free and starting to lean toward a more paleo diet, I’m thinking “Ralf” might not be such a bad guy after all.
So, I just wanted to let you know that though it was this recipe for dressed “pasta” salad that brought me here, it is your love of the “noodler” that’s going to keep me here for a while 🙂
–Mae, 52 and OTP in the ATL
Thanks for dropping by, Mae! While I don’t use my Noodler/Spiralizer exclusively for raw foods, it sure does work well for raw dishes. I like making sweet potato noodles with it and giving them a quick stir fry. I also like roasted beets spiralized. This gizmo gets a steady workout in my kitchen. 🙂
Thanks for this great recipe–I did not know until 5 minutes ago that I *need* this in my life. Does it store well? I’m wondering if the avocado discolors over time and if moisture releases from the zucchini… Because I’m thinking this is more than I can eat in one day, and my kids will most likely try it and then claim to not like it.
I keep it for a day or two, but as you mentioned the zucchini does make it a bit more water-y. The avocado doesn’t discolor much as it’s blended in well. I hope you enjoy it!