Summer Squash, Arugula & Lemon Salad

This is a good recipe to have on hand when you have loads of summer squash and want to use some for a lunch salad. Sumer squash goes really well raw in this salad tossed with arugula leaves and half of a whole lemon that adds an extra note of sourness and bitterness which complements the rest of the ingredients well with feta and pickled onions.


To make the salad more substantial I added boiled eggs. I had it without the first time around and realized I got hungry three hours later. So the eggs went in the next time and it made a big difference.

Recipe adapted from Cook Beautiful, Athena Calderone
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 lemon, sliced into 1/8" thick slices, seeds removed and then finely chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
2 green onions, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
heaping 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 medium zucchinis, ideally one gold bar and one regular green
8 ounces baby arugula leaves
1/3 bunch mint, leaves roughly torn
1/2 large bunch basil, leaves roughly torn
1 cup pickled red onions/shallots (from here)
2 oz hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
4 oz feta, crumbled
8 hard boiled eggs, sliced or chopped (optional)
Flaky sea salt

Procedure:
Whisk together chopped lemons, lemon juice, honey, green onions, olive oil and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Using a mandolin with medium julienne blade (or a spiralizer), julienne the squash by using a towel or wash cloth and holding the squash with it while you vertically run it through the mandolin. Only get the outsides of the squash. Reserve the inside seed core for another use.
In a large serving bowl, toss squash with arugula, mint, basil, pickled onions, hazelnuts, feta and all of the dressing. You might even wanna use your hands to mix the dressing in thoroughly. Divide the salad along four bowls and and top with two sliced eggs each and use a heavy hand to sprinkle on sea salt flakes. If you wanted to eat part of the salad later, don't toss it with the dressing all at once. Do it on individual portions.