Saturday, September 1, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Zucchini Tagliatelle with Cucumbers, Lemon and Parsley and Grilled Raddichio with Feta Dip


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Zucchini Tagliatelle with Mint, Cucumber, and Lemon, a very pretty salad that gets its name from long slices of zucchini that bear a striking resemblance to tagliatelle pasta.




The ingredients required for this recipe are few, namely, some zucchinis, English cucumber, sweet onion, lemon zest and juice, pistachio oil, freshly ground black pepper and a good salt. I substituted Italian parsley for the mint and added summer squash for color and taste to this salad.




Since we were having whole chickens for dinner, I prepared two side dishes, Dorie´s Zucchini Tagliatelle a.k.a. Courgette and Summer Squash Salad and Grilled Radicchio with a Feta Dip.

The preparation of the salad is simple, using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, you slice the zucchini and summer squash lengthwise as thin as you can and then place the slices in a salad bowl, add some peeled, seeded and diced cucumber, chopped Italian parsley, and lemon peel. Then you whisk some freshly squeezed lemon juice, pistachio oil or good extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and salt in a small bowl, pour it over the thinly sliced vegetables mixture and then toss carefully just to coat. After you refrigerated the Courgette and Summer Squash Salad for about an hour, test for seasoning and toss with chopped Italian parsley and plate the salad – it makes for a nice presentation if you can scatter the slices over a large plate.




Recipe for Grilled Radicchio with Feta Dip
(grill-pan method)

Feta Dip

Ingredients

150 grams (5.3 ounces) greek feta cheese
100 grams (3.5 ounces) natural yoghurt
½ tsp hot ground paprika (you can also use mild ground paprika or one of the smoked varieties if you prefer)
Italian parsley (small bunch)
some chives
juice of  ½ lemon
fine sea salt (go easy with the salt as feta can be rather salty, so it is best to add the salt at the end)
freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Put all the ingredients ,except herbs, in a blender and process until reasonably smooth (I do not mind some small chunks of feta  in my dip)
2. Wash and clean chives and parsley and chop finely.
3. Add chopped herbs to the dip.
4. Place dip in a fridge for about thirty minutes prior to serving.
Note: The dip can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge but note that if you prepare this dip in advance, you might want to add the herbs thirty minutes before serving.




Grilled Radicchio Slices

Ingredients

2 large heads of radicchio (about 1 pound total)
olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice of half a lime or lemon
basil (a few leaves)

Preparation

1. Wash the radicchio and remove any loose outer leaves, trim bases, leaving heads intact.
2. Halve through core end, cut each half into 3 wedges with some core still attached.
3. Place radicchio wedges in a large bowl with cold and well salted water.
4. Let the radicchio soak in the salty water for about ten minutes (if you follow this method, some of the bitterness will be drawn from the leaves).
5. Take the radicchio out of the water, place the slices on kitchen towels and dry off very carefully.
6. Heat a well-seasoned grill pan.
7. Brush radicchio lightly with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
8. Grill the radicchio in batches over moderate heat for a few minutes, turn and grill for another few minutes until the radicchio slices are browned and hearts are tender.
9. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.
10. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, lime or lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
11. Decorate with a few basil leaves.
12. Serve with the Feta Dip.




We enjoyed this Courgette and Summer Squash Salad tremendously, kids and adults alike, and the taste testers unanimously appreciated the presentation. A keeper, pure and simple. And a nice side dish to grilled chicken and alongside the grilled raddichio with feta dip.

To see how the other talented Doristas prepared this dish, please click here.





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A NOTE TO MY BLOG READERS: inspired by all the wonderful fruits and honey I bought at a country fair we visited a few days ago, starting tomorrow, Sunday, September 2, 2012, I will be posting one late summer/early fall cake/dessert recipe every day, for one week, some old-fashioned, some more modern, most of them with a European twist - I sincerely  hope that you will enjoy my week-long series. I would like to hear from you what your favorite seasonal baked goods are...

PART I  on Sunday will be Sweet Dough Leaves with  Plums & Plum Torte



18 comments:

  1. Looks absolutely beautiful and delicious, all of it. I love how easily this salad can be changed up to meet one's needs/likes/available ingredients...just a nice refreshing summer salad. Your presentation is beautiful.

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    1. Kayte, thank you so much for your nice compliment, this is indeed a very nice recipe and we enjoyed it tremendously!

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  2. What a beautiful and delicious meal you prepared. I love the color the yellow squash gives the salad. Very nice job. I hope you have a wonderful weekend:)

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    1. Totally beautiful, Andrea! The feta dip looks so interesting.
      Have a wonderful weekend

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    2. Thank you so much, Geraldine - it is fun preparing meals around Dorie´s recipes:

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    3. Cher, thanks, the feta dip was a big hit with the kids too.

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  3. I love your addition of summer squash - the colours of your salad are so beautiful. I'm intrigued by the radicchio/feta dish, too. Your presentation of both is just gorgeous.

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    1. Teresa, thanks so much - ttrying to incorporate as many of the late summer´s bounty into our regular meal schedule before it disappears on us.

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  4. Such a delicious looking meal…your radicchio looks scrumptious! This salad was not a hit for me, but I’m glad you and your family enjoyed it! It looks wonderful in your beautiful presentation! Have a great weekend, Andrea!!

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    1. Kathy, raddicchio can be a bit difficult to find around here simply because people find it too bitter but I appreciate a vegetateble "with character".

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  5. Everything looks fantastic. I am interested in the radicchio/feta dish also, and just bookmarked it for the future. I am looking
    forward to reading your week-long series of recipes. Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Tricia, this feta dip is the easiest recipe ever and it tastes great too, just the kind of thing you like to prpare on a Friday.

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  6. The Dorie recipe seemed to get mixed reviews! Both your salads are beautiful...glad you enjoyed :)

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    1. Thank you, Liz - the salads were nice and easy to prepare and all the taste testers liked them - that always makes me happy!

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  7. I am very impressed and intriqued with your radiccio/feta dish. Definitely on the back burner to try when my life gets a little more stable/settled down. I "pinned" it as I hope others will try it also. I wasn't a fan of the FFWD Salad, as you know, so thank you for offering me something extra this week. I look forward to your daily series. Your Blog is very, very good, Andrea

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    1. Mary, this Zucchini salad received mixed reviews but we loved it and with a bit of "tweaking" it was a success.

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  8. Hi Andrea! I wasn't very excited about the zucchini salad (my slices were just way too thick), but your feta dip does sound quite appealing. And, I can't wait to see your dessert recipes. Your baked goods always sound so delicious, and I tend to like European desserts more than American ones (less sweet, maybe?). Have a sweet week with all that baking.

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    1. Betsy, thank you, a sweet week it will be. I am just grateful that I have lots of eager cake eaters lined up for a slice or two of my pies and cakes.

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