Lunch Lately

I have been waiting weeks to have the time to try the salad that I've been eating for the past two days for lunch.  Now I can barely wait to share it!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad
You'll need (for one salad)

• 1 small zucchini
• 2 cups arugala
• 1 tablespoon goat cheese
• 1.5 tablespoons hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon for saute pan
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Start by peeling your zucchini.  Then continue to use your peeler to make zucchini "ribbons" using all of the zucchini until you get down to the seeds.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a saute pan and cook ribbons over medium heat for 5 minutes, turning every so often.

While the zucchini is cooking, whisk together the remaining olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper.

  
Add the 2 cups of arugala to the dressing mixture and toss to coat.  I like doing this before adding the other ingredients to make sure all of the lettuce is coated with dressing.

Sprinkle half of the goat cheese and hazelnuts on top of the arugala.  Once zucchini ribbons have cooled, lay them over top of the salad and add remaining cheese and nuts.

Delicious!  Such a good preview to summer vegetables and lots of salads.

You can make a lot of substitutions here and get similar results-- spinach instead of arugala, almonds or walnuts instead of hazelnuts, and feta cheese instead of goat; however, the combination listed above is a mixture of all my favorites.