Summer Zucchini Salad with Tomatoes and Pesto

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

• Zucchini. Any variety of summer squash or zucchini works great here – I used a mix of yellow squash and green zucchini. The key is to make sure they are young and firm. Save those bigger, older zucchini with mature seeds for making zucchini fritters instead!
  One medium zucchini in this recipe is roughly 250 grams (about 9 ounces).
• Tomatoes. Cherry or cocktail tomatoes are your best bet – they’re usually super sweet and packed with flavor. That said, during the peak of tomato season, you can absolutely grab some large, ripe heirloom tomatoes and cut them into wedges or large chunks.
• Garlic. You can use either fresh or granulated garlic here. The flavor profile and kick will be slightly different, but both work beautifully. If you go with granulated garlic, use 1/4 tsp to replace the fresh garlic in this recipe.
• Dried herbs. I used dried basil, but dried oregano or an Italian herb blend would also be amazing. Each brings its own unique vibe, but they all fit right into this salad.
• Pesto. Homemade pesto is hands down the best way to go – especially if you use my go-to recipe! While store-bought works well too, making it from scratch is so much more rewarding and flavorful. It’s fresh herb season, after all, and it would be a crime not to take advantage of it!
• Basil. I tossed in some fresh basil leaves at the end. This is completely optional, which is why I didn’t even list them in the ingredients. But trust me, they do a lot more than just look pretty as a garnish!

Let’s start cooking!

Finely chop the garlic. Cut the zucchini lengthwise into 4 pieces, then crosswise into thick slices about 2 cm wide.

Cut the tomatoes into 2-4 pieces depending on their size.

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan over high heat. Sauté the zucchini in batches until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes per batch.

Add the dried basil and garlic and season with salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Remove from heat.

Add the tomatoes and drizzle with pesto. Crumble the feta on top. Serve.

Enjoy!

This Summer Zucchini Salad with Tomatoes and Pesto recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
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