Zucchini Asparagus Salad

With the unbearable heat in NYC the last few days, I've been making lots of salads in lieu of side dishes. So I've been itching to make a fresh salad that was different than mixing some romaine or arugula with some other veggies and toppings.

I love zucchini and asparagus, and normally I eat these veggies cooked, but had recently seen this recipe on the food network and knew I had to try it out. It's so simple to make, as long as you have a little patience to get the zucchini shavings right.

Ingredients:

2 Zucchini

6 asparagus stalks 

Shaved Parmegiano Regianno

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tbsp of Champagne/white wine

Wash and slice the zuchinni in half, length-wise. With a vegetable peeler, cut thin ribbons of zucchini until almost at the skin. With the asparagus, break off the ends. (Rule of thumb, to see where to cut the end of the asparagus hold with both hands, and put pressure on the end side of it. Where it snaps off is where you want to cut the remaining asparagus stocks). Cut on a diagonal to thin strips, maybe 1/4" thick. Mix with zucchini strips.



To make the vinagrette, add the vegetable oil, lemon salt & pepper to a small bowl and mix well until slightly emulsified. Then add a tbsp of champagne, or white wine (whatever you have handy works) and mix again until fully blended. Pour over salad, and finish with fresh shavings of Parmegiano Regianno.