Home » Herbs » More Zucchini and Some Shout Outs

Earlier this week I received an email from Foodbuzz that announced the winners of their contest to see which food blogs could increase their traffic the most.

It was a pleasantly surprise to find out that I had come in third place, right behind Emiline of Sugar Plum and Allan of Eating Out Loud.

I’d like to extend my congratulations to both of them and I would like to thank all of you, my regular readers who made this possible.

My love affair with zucchini continues. Last year, I too made a Zucchini Carpaccio and a Zucchini Linguine AND during last year’s vacation in Greece, I even surprised my friends and relatives with this refreshing salad.

Although zucchini is a much enjoyed vegetable in Greece, Greeks aren’t the keenest on rare meats, seafood or certain vegetables like…zucchini. Conventional Greek cooking calls for them to be cooked.

Much to my surprise (and theirs), they enjoyed “raw” zucchini. Surprise your guests with a zucchini salad (or carpaccio).

Here, I’ve gone with the more rustic approach and I’ve sliced ribbons of zucchini with a vegetable peeler. Some of you might have seen Jamie Oliver make his own zucchini salad in his latest series, Jamie At Home. He’s not the first nor the last one to make a salad of raw zucchini.

Herb-wise, I’m using what’s available in my garden – chives and the new addition of lemon thyme. Play around and make this salad your way. Add some summer squash for colour, try different herbs, flavoured vinegars, add some berries. You’ll add another salad to your roster and impress the heck out of your guests with little effort at all!

Salad of Zucchini Ribbons
(for 4)

2 green zucchinis
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
coarse sea salt
2 tsp. chopped fresh lemon thyme
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

  1. Using a vegetable peeler, slice your zucchini lengthwise to make long, thin ribbons of zucchini and drop them in a bowl.
  2. Just minutes from when you’re ready to serve your meal, add the lemon zest and a good sprinkle of coarse sea salt and allow the citrus and salt to “marinate” the zucchini for about 5 minutes.
  3. Add approx. 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, your chilli and chopped fresh herbs and toss to coat. Adjust salad according to your tastes with salt, lemon juice or olive oil.
  4. Serve immediately.

53 Responses

  1. Congrats Peter. This bloggin thing takes a lot of hard work and you deserve it. BTW. I need some of that slad for lunch.

  2. Isn’t it great to enjoy the simple things in life? I for one definitely think it is. According to this philosophy I should now have zucchini ribbons salad. Lucky me, I came to the right place ;)

  3. Congratulations Peter on your accolades. I see your name everywhere I go in the blogging world, so keep it up:D

  4. Congratulations Peter! Well deserved. Even though you are not vegetarian, your blog is one of my favorites.

  5. Congratulations “megale”…very well deserved. Love the zucchini carpaccio. I do something similar with cucumbers.

  6. Congrats, Peter! You deserve it! I didn’t even know there was a contest – that’s how “in the loop” I am these days.

    Your salad looks lovely! Zucchini is one of my faves.

  7. Congratulations Peter! This looks very summery. A bit of chilli in the dressing might be good too.

  8. Congratulations! You deserve it! Great zuchinni recipe, I actually prefer mine raw (or at least barely cooked).

  9. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  10. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  11. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  12. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  13. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  14. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  15. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  16. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  17. Well done, Peter.You make it look so easy, but we all know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep the blog new and refreshing every day.

    Great salad.

  18. I’m new here, but just wanted to say thank you for the Zucchini recipe. I’m always running out of ideas of what to do with all that zucchini I get each summer.

  19. Congratulations on the foodbuzz Peter! I am not at all surprised to hear that your traffic has increased substantially, the site is fab and always brings a little sunshine for me.

  20. Not tried a raw ‘courgette’ (!) salad before. Like the idea – think I may well give it a try sometime soon.

  21. Congrats! I am not surprised your blog is growing quickly. That zucchini salad looks good too – simple but tasty.

  22. Congrats Peter!! Your blog is indeed amongst the most enjoyable!! Great food & writing, always a pleasure to check it out! Looking fwd to more posts and continuations of your zucchini love affair!

  23. Way to go Peter! All of your hard work, you will be number one soon! Just picked up a zucchini at the market – might just have to try your salad. Nice and fresh!

  24. Congratulations Peter! Well deserved – your blog is fantastic!
    And I love the look of this Zucchini ribbon salad of yours!
    PS: Thanks for the kind words on my dessert.

  25. Thank you very much to all! I really don’t know where I’d be without my food blog, my daily perusal of your blogs, the wonderful food being cooked in our own kitchens. I’m having a blast, hop you all are too!

  26. Congratulations Peter – there is a certain skill in increasing readership on one’s blog – the fine balance of interesting content and give and take to fellow bloggers. You’ve done a good job.

    I like the ribbon zucchini look – would be an extremely attractive side to any meal.

  27. Congrats, Peter! With such great writing and killer recipes, it’s no surprise your blog is a big hit. The zucchini ribbons look gorgeous. Keep it up, my friend!

  28. Peter, all your dishes always look so elegant.

    I love these ribbons no wonder your family loved them raw they look really tasty.

  29. Congrats, Peter! I am not surprised your blog is so popular _ you have so many delicious recipes here. This salad looks simple and healthy. Easy to make too.

  30. Thanks so much for another great zucchini recipe!!! I love the simplicity and the fresh flavors in this one!

  31. Congrats to you, Peter! Great job. It was no surprise to me that you were in the top, since your blog is so popular.

    This is so weird, because I was just thinking about a zucchini carpaccia. I think this sounds delicious.

  32. Congratulations, Peter! I think you’re the hardest working food blogger … I just visited my reader to catch up on my favorite blogs, and your blog has twice the posts of any other blog — holy crap!

    Keep up the excellent work!

  33. Congratulations once again, Peter! I’m so proud of you, and it is SO well deserved! :) Beautiful looking salad, too! :)

  34. Someone who has the time (or makes the time – do you sleep?) to blog virtually every day deserves some love! Seriously… good for you man!

    When I saw this salad I got a tear in my eye. A similar one to this is on our list of things to make – it is a salad we had the night before we got married in Italy and I was absolutely amazed at what can be done w/ raw zucchini. Please don’t be upset when we do this dish – I promise to credit you with reminding us that we need to post it. Lovely!!!

  35. Congratulations Peter! What a beautiful salad.

    I was wondering about Foodbuz… I got an email to join but didn’t really know what it was or? benefits?

  36. Giz, thank you and you’re right, it’s work but I enjoy the blog and the trappings that come with it.

    Angela, you knock some fab dishes out too!

    Jeena, more ribbons in another dish coming up.

    Oh Heather, you’re not the type are you? Let’s drink!

    Emiline, you got top prize, Missy…congrats to you!

    Allen, hardest worker? I’m just so into food…sue me! lol

    Amy & jonny, thanks…it’s joy to cook and share through my blog and go wild with the zucchini salad, you’ll do it proud!

    Nicole, email me and I can fill you in on Foodbuzz.

    To everyone else…again, thank you so much for reading, commenting and even trying out some of my dishes. Food is a personal thing and I’m humbled.

  37. Congratulations Darling!!!! I’m happy you got up there :D

    Your salad looks so tempting in shape and taste… Mmmmm, lovely♥

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