Serve this salad at room temperature or lightly chilled. If you wish, you can skip the lettuces and use this as a “salad” in the Moroccan sense- one of several room temperature vegetable dishes served first and then with the main part of the meal.
INGREDIENTS:
6 summer squash (different colors if available), split lengthwise then cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces 1 clove garlic, peeled 4 tablespoons lemon juice (Meyer preferably) 12 scallions, white and pale green parts only, trimmed ½ cup oil cured olives, pitted and quartered 6 cups lettuce, cleaned and torn into bite-sized bits Olive oil as needed ½ to 1 cup feta or ricotta cheese, crumbled/broken up 1 cup lemon dill vinaigrette (see recipe)METHOD:
Rub a non-reactive bowl with garlic until the clove is broken down and there is garlic oil on the inside of the bowl. Discard the garlic. Add the lemon juice and let flavors marry 20 minutes. Add the squash and toss to coat with lemon. Wait 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper and coat lightly with olive oil. Toss to coat evenly with oil.
Heat a grill until very hot. When hot, drain the squash and transfer to the grill. Cook until squash is marked all over and is just barely cooked-no longer raw, but still retaining some bite to it, about 10 minutes.
While the squash cooks, lightly oil the scallions.
When the squash is ready, transfer it to a bowl.
Grill the scallion greens just to mark and soften them a little. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to cool. When cooled, cut into ½-inch pieces, and add to bowl with squash.
Dress grilled vegetables just enough to liberally coat the vegetables and toss to evenly distribute it. Allow to marinate 20-60 minutes.
Add olives and toss to evenly distribute. (The dish can be used as is if you wish at this point. Top with some parsley or dill and serve.)
Put the lettuce into a bowl and drizzle with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Distribute between 4 plates.
Mound grilled vegetables onto the lettuces, then scatter with the cheese.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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