Shaved Baby Zucchini, Fennel, and Mint Salad

When zucchini and summer squash are small and tender, the best way to use them is in a raw salad where their flavor and tenderness shine. I love this simple shaved salad where crisp texture and sweet flavors of fennel are complemented by the tender texture and slightly bitter flavor of raw zucchini. Add shaved pecorino Romano cheese, ribbons of mint leaves and toss it all with lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of flakey sea salt you have yourself a real winner of a summer salad. This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Daniel Patterson in the New York Times, I add more fennel and use less pecorino for a crunchier and more earthy salad.

I miss my garden when I am in France and am lucky enough to find super fresh and wonderful things at the weekly farmers market. The dirt is still on the zucchini, the fennel, and greens and everything is local. It is as close as I can get to my backyard haven that serves us meals in the spring (greenhouse), summer (garden), and winter (blanched greens, pickled delights, fermented favorites, stored cabbage, carrots, potatoes, winter squash, and beets, and other delights). Some day, I will have a garden in France, but for now, the market is my weakly haven.

Go to your garden or the local farmers market and find the ingredients for this salad. You will make yourself, your family, and guests happy as clams. You could even serve it with steamed clams or wonderfully fresh grilled fare from the sea.

This salad serves 4 as a side. You can add silky tender greens (not bitter, mild) like butter lettuce is you want to extend the reach of the salad to a bigger group or could double the recipe.

Gather theses ingredients and get to work.

• 1 ¼ pounds zucchini, thinly sliced using a vegetable peeler or madoline

• ½ cup torn mint leaves

• ½ cup shaved aged pecorino Romano cheese (or good Parmesan cheese)

• 1-2 small heads fennel (about ½ pound, cored and thinly shaved

• Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here’s how to bring it all together:

Use a vegetable peeler or mandoline (watch your fingers) to thinly shave the zucchini into long ribbons. Remove the fennel stems and rough outer pieces. Reserve the fronds (tear them off and separate into feather like tendrils). Shave the fennel, into thin slices using the large horizontal slits (about 4 inches long) on large cheese grater, a vegetable peeler, or a mandoline.

Place the zucchini and fennel into a large bowl, toss together the zucchini, mint, fennel fronds, pecorino Romano, fennel, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Add more lemon juice or olive oil to taste.

Serve immediately as a started or accompanied by grilled fish or meat.