Pasta and fried zucchini salad
Instructions:
- I put to good use here my grandmother’s fried zucchini, her signature Passover dish. They are as beautiful on their own as they are in this salad, which makes ideal picnic grub. The pasta I’ve used is strozzapreti, which literally means “priest choker”! Feel free to substitute another interesting short pasta shape.
- 2/3 cup sunflower oil
- 3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
- 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3/4 cup frozen edamame
- 2 cups basil leaves, shredded coarsely
- 1/4 cup parsley leaves
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt and black pepper
- 9 oz strozzapreti or penne
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 tbsp small capers
- 7 oz buffalo mozzarella, torn by hand into chunks
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry the zucchini slices in a few batches, making sure you don’t crowd them, for 3 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides; turn them over once only. As they are cooked, transfer to a colander to drain. Tip the zucchini slices into a bowl, pour over the vinegar and stir, then set aside.
- Blanch the edamame for 3 minutes in boiling water; drain, refresh under running cold water and set aside to dry.
- Combine half the basil, all of the parsley and the olive oil in a food processor, adding a bit of salt and pepper. Blitz to a smooth sauce.
- Cook the pasta until al dente; drain and rinse under a stream of cold water. Return to the pan in which it was cooked.
- Pour the zucchini and their juices over the pasta. Add the edamame, basil sauce, lemon zest, capers and mozzarella. Stir gently together, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Before serving, stir in the remaining basil.