Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Shavings

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 4/29/2014

Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Shavings

Clean eating, that's what this salad is all about. It's perfect for the warm months ahead using fresh ingredients and highlighted with balsamic vinegar and Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan). Paired with a glass of good white wine, then your meal is set to a healthy and nutritious one. Not to mention its simplicity.

Salads like this makes me look for a quite time in a corner under the shade of our overgrown olive trees with a slight warm breeze cooling me while I look at the garden where the trees that my husband planted more than a decade ago are growing well. We live in a compound with other houses. Our house is the only one separated from the rest, giving us access to more green to take care of but the autonomy is the big prize of it. We have a wonderful nature surrounding us 360 degrees with some animals sharing the area with us like hedgehogs (that our old dog used to hunt in the garden and take them back to his bed to stare at), bats, hoopoes (that I am wishing to photograph), seagulls, doves, partridges, and many more. The kids grew up in this surroundings and I am happy about how attached they are to nature. I, myself grew up playing outdoors throughout my childhood and it had been one great experience.

From now on, I will have more strictly healthy dishes because I have just started creating recipes for Skinny Ms., a site dedicated to clean eating and healthy lifestyle. You can check out the site to see other interesting recipes and tips in giving more attention to a cleaner lifestyle.

To get this Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Shavings recipe, hop on over to Skinny Ms. or just scroll down the page. This doesn't take long to prepare and with the first crunch of the raw zucchini, you will understand how wonderful simplicity is in our food. Enjoy and buon appetito!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad With Pine Nuts and Parmesan Shavings

Yields 6 servings
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 large zucchini
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Fresh mint leaves
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Directions:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until they start to change their color, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
With the use of a mandoline slicer or sharp knife, vertically slice the zucchini very thinly.
In a small bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt.  In a large salad bowl combine the zucchini, pine nuts, Parmesan and mint. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing just before serving.