The summer is a joyous season for various reasons and tonight we’ve discovered yet another; namely, the summer salad. The summer salad has many forms and it often materializes without much thought. For example, tonight we glanced at our bounty of summer vegetables and assembled three salads to go along with our grilled, whole, chicken: Grilled Zucchini and Onion with Feta and Basil, Cucumber and Carrot, and Tomato and Red Onion:
Summer Salads: Grilled Zucchini and Onion, Feta, and Basil, Cucumber and Carrot, and Tomato and Red Onion
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Recipe type: Vegetables, Salads
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- 3-4 zucchini cut into ¼ thick pieces (the pieces should run the length of the entire zucchini)
- 15-basil leaves
- ½ red onion
- ½ spanish onion
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 medium sized carrot (with the skin removed)
- 4-5 Kirby cucumbers (with the skin removed)
- 1 large tomato (or 2-3 medium sized tomatoes)
- ½ cup of feta cheese
- ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
Process
- The ingredients above cover the three salads. For the Grilled Zucchini and Onion, Feta, and Basil, begin by laying the pieces of zucchini on a large plate and brushing with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle liberal amounts of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on the slices of zucchini.
- Next, preheat your outdoor grill and cook each side of the zucchini for 2-3 minutes on high heat; you're looking for a bit of char and to soften the interior of the zucchini. Cut the ½ of the large Spanish onion into ⅛ inch slices and follow the same cooking instructions as the zucchini. Once the zucchini and onion are finished cooking move them both to a large cutting board and let cool for a few minutes. Cut the zucchini and onion into 2 inch pieces and place in a serving bowl.
- Next add the following to the bowl: finely minced basil, extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and feta (crumble coarsely over the bowl). Stir well and enjoy immediately.
- The cucumber and carrot salad is straightforward. Begin by removing the skin of the cucumbers and halving it. Next, chop into ½ inch pieces and move to a large bowl. Use you vegetable peeler to remove the exterior skin of the carrot and continue to peel the carrots into you have thin pieces of carrot. Combine the shredded carrots, cucumber, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt and freshly ground black peppers to taste, and dried oregano and mix well.
- Our tomato salad recipe can be found here.
