Grilled Zucchini Salad

When at the beach, I love it when I find zucchini in my garden. Especially when I have a houseful of people and have lots of meals to prepare. The other day the timing was perfect since I wanted to make a great salad to go with our simple pasta. So I grabbed a few zucchini and grilled them. I combined them with mesclun lettuce, garden tomatoes, kalamata olives, and fresh basil. I finished it off with a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and I had myself a delicious salad. This salad was perfect with our dinner, and it would go with anything grilled. It's summer on a platter.

Ingredients for Grilled Zucchini Salad:

1 container of mesclun or spring lettuce

4 zucchini, sliced into 1/4" pieces lengthwise

1-2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved

a handful of fresh basil leaves

extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

black pepper

Time-Saving Tips: The zucchini can be grilled a few hours in advance.

Let's see what we need.

We're ready to make the salad.

After slicing the zucchini, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss well, so the vegetable is well coated. Transfer the zucchini to a heated grill and cook on medium-high until there are beautiful grill marks on both sides. Remove from the grill and let cool to room temperature.

Now it's time to build the salad. I like to use a platter and then pile on the lettuce. I then place all of the zucchini on top, scatter the tomatoes, olives, and basil. Then season well with salt and pepper. The dressing is easy. Just take the oil and drizzle the entire salad and then do the same for the vinegar.

It's ready! Grilled Zucchini Salad comes together so quickly and is delicious. It's the perfect summer side dish, especially when you're thinking of ways to use up the zucchini from your garden. My guests loved it, and it disappeared quickly. I know if you give it a try that you'll love it.

Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini Salad:

salad