Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Pesto and Pepitas

We recently got a copy of Cured: Cooking with Ferments, Pickles, Preserves & More by Steve McHugh and Paula Forbes.  My daughter loves everything pickled.

This salad just screams summer, with its bright colors and many textures. We always have some version of a squash salad at Cured during the summer, because at a certain point we inevitably have more squash than we know what to do with. And I don’t think people know how good raw summer squash can taste!

SERVES 4

  • 2 pounds zucchini and yellow squash, ends trimmed
  • Salt
  • 3/4 cup goat cheese, softened 1/4 cup roasted salted pepitas
  • 1/s cup pesto
    Freshly ground black pepper

1 Use a peeler to cut the squash into paper-thin ribbons, making sure each strip includes a little bit of the colorful peel. Stop when you reach the seeds and discard the seedy center.

2 Toss the ribbons gently in a colander with a big pinch of salt. Allow to drain in the sink for 10 minutes.

3 Either distribute the squash among individual plates or pile onto a serving dish. Dot the salad with small dollops of goat cheese and sprinkle with pepitas.

4 Drizzle the pesto over the salad and grind some pepper over the top. Serve.