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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Prosciutto Crisps

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Two words for you: prosciutto crisps. They were far and away my favorite part of this salad! The crispy, salty prosciutto was the perfect match for the cool vegetables and lemony dressing. I actually over-dressed the salad; I tend to get a little overzealous with my lemon squeezing! I didn't mind and the flavor wasn't too strong, but the salad was a little wet, so you may want to use the amount in the recipe if you want a drier salad.

This isn't the first time I've made a shaved squash salad. Last year for Ryan's Columbia Crest Birthday Dinner, we had the Shaved Zucchini Salad with Parmesan and Pine Nuts. I didn't necessarily like one more than the other, it all depends on if you're feeling feta or parmesan, prosciutto crisps or pine nuts! What I did like about both of them was how easy they are to make and how impressive they look on the plate. Though you'll find green salad after green salad on this blog, sometimes it's fun to change it up!

Take advantage of the abundance of summer squash and zucchini this time of year and whip up this salad. This will be made in my house again, if for no other reason than as an excuse to eat more prosciutto crisps!

Happy Birthday to my Grandma, one of my biggest kitchen inspirations and favorite people in the world!

One Year Ago: Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Shaved Summer Salad with Prosciutto Crisps
from Cooking Light June 2011
*serves 4


Ingredients:
-1 medium zucchini
-2 medium yellow squash
-1/4 tsp salt
-2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
-1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
-1/2 tsp lemon zest
-1 tsp fresh lemon juice
-1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-3 thin slices prosciutto (1 oz.), chopped
-1/4 cup (1 oz.) crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini and squash into thin strips (discard the seeds). Place the ribbons in a medium sized bowl and toss with salt.
2. In a small bowl, combine the mint, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and ground black pepper. Whisk and then pour over the vegetables. Toss to coat.
3. In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, saute prosciutto for 2 minutes, or until crisp.
4. Divide salad amongst 4 plates and top each with prosciutto and feta cheese.

This content was originally posted on Honest Cooking in my featured column "Cooking the Magazines".