Culinary creator Andrea Buckett has established a treasure trove of utterly delicious recipes that make for quick, easy, healthy dinners. But her stunningly simple zucchini and white bean salad with feta and mint may be our favorite. Why? It’s a tangy, refreshing, subtly hearty vegetarian side dish that can instantly gussy up a plate of otherwise humdrum chicken or fish.
As another bonus, this recipe is constructed of ingredients you might already have in the house. “Zucchini is almost always in my crisper,” Buckett writes. “It’s inexpensive, versatile, and really takes on any flavors you want to throw at it. For this recipe, I like using a combination of both yellow and green zucchini so that the colors really pop, but feel free to use whatever you can get your hands on. Its firm and toothsome nature makes it great to use in fresh salads like this one.”
And though this recipe is simple, there are a few technique-based tips that’ll make it shine even more. “While lots of people like to slice it thinly or use a vegetable peeler to shave strips into a salad,” Buckett continues, “I prefer it diced — I find that the ribbons, while gorgeous, tend to stick together. Also, pro tip: Cutting your vegetables roughly the same size as the beans means that every bite will have a great combination of all the parts of the salad, which equals better flavor.”
And trust us, paying a little extra attention to that dice doesn’t mean you’ll be fussing over your cutting board for hours. The prep time is over before you know it, and then your fridge does the rest of the work. (The salad needs to chill in there for half an hour.) What you do with that 30 minutes of downtime is very much up to you, but may we suggest a nap in the A.C.?
Zucchini and White Bean Salad with Feta and Mint
Ingredients
- 4 zucchini, diced
- 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Add the zucchini, white beans and feta to a bowl.
- Whisk together the lemon zest, juice, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the zucchini mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Remove from the fridge and taste for seasoning; add more lemon juice or olive oil if the vegetables have soaked up all flavor from the dressing.
Recipe by Andrea Buckett.
