It’s hard to believe a plate this beautiful is so easy to make. Crudi means “raw” and the freshness of raw vegetables is especially welcome as an accompaniment to a heavier pasta. The key to this dish is creating long, graceful ribbons of the raw zucchini; they should look almost like pale green fettuccine noodles.
Recipe information
Yield
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini, trimmed
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese in one chunk
Preparation
Step 1
Using a vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini into long thin strips. Thinly slice the asparagus on a diagonal. Put the sliced vegetables in a serving bowl and toss together to combine.
Step 2
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then drizzle over the vegetables. Toss to coat. Use the vegetable peeler to shave the Pecorino over the salad and serve immediately.
Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.
Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.
