A simple squash salad

One of the things I find most enjoyable about eating in restaurants, is thinking through the food that is served, and determining if I can make it at home, and what modifications I would need to do so. Such is the case with this lovely little side dish.

During our recent trip to San Francisco, one dish that we ate at Zuni Cafe' was merquez sausage, served with a raw salad of shredded heirloom squash, with lime and marash pepper. It was delightful, especially the langniappe (look it up), of the lamb spare rib that came with the dish, "because we had a few of them around." When I tasted that salad, I knew I had to try it, and it made an appearance at our latest dinner party.

Here's where the modifications begin. First, the particular variety of squash that Zuni used, is not grown on the East Coast. No problem, we have lots of variety in our squash. Second, however, is the fact that Zuni has about a dozen and a half happy sous chefs, working away at the dishes. So, if an order comes in that calls for that salad, the chef in charge grates the squash, seasons it, and out it comes.

TRY to do raw food salads to order, when you are a guest, host and cook at your own party. I dare you. And if, like me, you can never find the ingredient you HAD to have, (where the hell IS that jar of marash pepper?), you know you have to learn to roll with the punches.

So, grating squash at the last minute, was out of the question. BUT.... if you break down vegetable tissue just a bit, an acid can get in and flavor it rather easily. Squash is very soft and watery, so how do you break it down, while keeping its integrity? Any guesses.

A very quick drop into boiling salted water. When I saw quick, I mean 45 seconds. With very thin slices. You can do this. Yes, you can.

I used baby patty pan squash, which were a lovely pale green, almost like a luna moth's wings (perhaps not the best comparison, I admit), together with very small, standard yellow zucchini. I sliced the patty pans very thin, to show off their frilly ridges. The zucchini, I cut into little batons. I boiled them separately, the yellow first, so that the colors did not mix. I squeezed three limes, for about a pound of the squash, and instead of marash pepper (it's there SOMEWHERE), used pimenton. The spicy variety.

After you cook the squash, drain them as well as you can to get the boiling water off. Add the lime juice to them immediately. This "fixes" the color and starts the passage into the tissue. Then add the pepper. How much? Just keep on tasting until you get a faint flavor of smokiness. Put more if you like a stronger flavor, but keep balance in mind.

And you're done. Now, I hope you can see room for variation here. No limes? Use lemon. No pimenton or "it's here SOMEWHERE," use paprika. Or cayenne pepper (but use less). See what I mean?

This brightened up the rabbit dish just fine. The lack of any fat in the salad helped to cut the prosciutto's richness, and every plate was clean.

Perhaps the biggest compliment came when Matthew, the squash king, cleaned his plate of the vegetable before he finished his rabbit. I know you did, Matt. I was sitting next to you.

Try it. I think this may be one of the vegetable discoveries of this spring and summer period.