Greek Zucchini Ribbon Salad
Serves 3-4 as a side dish
4 small Zucchini (highly recommend Organic)
¼ small red onion (about 1 oz), thinly sliced
¼ cup halved Kalamata Olives, drained
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), finely diced
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup fat-free Feta
2-3 oz Mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (the good Mozzarella, the kind you find packed in water or in a log- not the shredded pizza cheese)
1 generous tbsp- lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
2 tbsp oil (I used 1 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and 1 tbsp olive oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1. Heat small pan over medium and add pine nuts. Swirl nuts around for 1-2 minutes until golden and fragrant. Remove from pan, set aside, and let cool.
2. Wash and dry zucchini. Cut off ends of zucchini. With a vegetable peeler, starting from the top of zucchini peel long, thin strips to the bottom. When you hit the seeds, rotate the zucchini ¼ turn and repeat on all 4 sides until alls that is left in the center of seeds. Discard (juice it, compost it, etc) the center.
3. Add zucchini strips (yep, zucchini stays raw) and remaining ingredients to a bowl. Toss together gently and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. I usually make it a couple hours before serving.
VEGANS!
Omit cheese and add another 1-2 tbsp of pine nuts. Because the pine nuts are so creamy, you are not missing out on a thing!