Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Prosciutto & Melon – Copy
This salad is perfect when hosting a ladies brunch or girls night in. We pair raw zucchini ribbon with melon and prosciutto and the salad gets finished with strawberries, mozzarella, basil, pine nuts and fennel fronds. A strawberry melon champagne vinaigrette is the perfect dressing that has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy.
Zucchini Ribbon Salad with Prosciutto & Melon
This is the prettiest salad I have ever made and would be perfect for hosting a ladies brunch or a girls night in. The raw zucchini is so mellow and has a nice subtle crunch to it so do not be afraid of the rawness here. I paired the zucchini with prosciutto and melon because we all know that is always a hit. The melon also gets peeled into long flexible ribbons. Plating the ribbons into curls make the salad so beautiful and gives it great height. To finish the salad we add in the prosciutto, sliced strawberries, mozzarella balls, basil, toasted pine nuts and fennel fronds for garnish if you have them. Some sliced fennel would also be lovely in this salad, now that I think about it, which I may edit in at some point. I made a strawberry melon champagne vinaigrette which is light, tart and slightly sweet.
What You'll Need
Makes about 4 side salads
- 2 Small Zucchini
- 1/4 of a Honeydew Melon
- 8 slices of Prosciutto
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Balls
- 1/2 cup Strawberries, sliced
- 1 Bunch of Basil
- 2 Tbsp Pine Nuts, toasted
- Fennel Fronds (optional)
Make the Strawberry Melon Champagne Vinaigrette
Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup honeydew melon, cubed
- 1/2 cup of strawberries, whole or cut in half
- 1/4 cup of champagne vinegar
- 1/4 cup of avocado oil
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1 tsp tarragon, chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Blend the fruit
- Add the honeydew melon and strawberries to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve (optional).
- Whisk remaining ingredients together
- In a medium bowl add the juices from the fruit, champagne vinegar, avocado oil, honey and chopped tarragon. Whisk until cohesive. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Peel the Zucchini & Melon into Ribbons
Tools Needed: Vegetable Peeler
To make the Zucchini Ribbons
- Cut the bottom of the zucchini off and use the stem as a handle.
- Hold the zucchini by the stem, and starting at the top, firmly press the peeler into the zucchini and peel down. Discard the first few strips since they will mostly be skin. Continue to peel until you reach the seeds.
- When you get to the seeds you can decide whether or not to continue to peel and use those ribbons or not. The seeds are less appealing to the eye and the seeds may cause holes in the ribbon but are fine to use.
- Turn the zucchini over and peel the other side until you get to the center.
- Set the strips aside.
NOTE
- It is best to peel the zucchini right before plating and use while fresh and crisp. Zucchini has a hight water content. As it sits the moisture is going to draw out of it and the salad will become wet and soggy. No one wants that.
- Do not salt your zucchini and let it sit to draw the moisture out of it. I’ve tried this. It will cause the zucchini to be limp. It’s fine to use but it is less appealing, it will lie flat on the plate and won’t have a nice subtle crunch.
Assemble the Salad
- Plate the zucchini and melon ribbons – Fold and Curl the ribbons to add height and visual appeal.
- Prosciutto – Tear the prosciutto into smaller pieces and fold it onto itself as you place it onto the zucchini and melon.
- Strawberries & Mozzarella – Scatter some strawberries & mozzarella evenly around the salad.
- Basil – Keep the smaller leaves whole and tuck them into the other ingredients. Tear larger leaves.
- Pine Nuts – Lightly toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium low heat until they start to turn golden brown in spots. Sprinkle the pine nuts overtop.
- Fennel Fronds – Place the fennel fronds on top as the prettiest garnish if you have them available. Thinly sliced fennel would be a lovely addition to this salad as well which I think I will incorporate in the future.
- Drizzle the Dressing – Drizzle the dressing over the salad right before serving or allow guests to do it themselves. This prevents the zucchini from sitting in the dressing for too long and getting soggy and watery.
Can You Make it In Advance?
You CAN make parts of the salad in advance including:
- YES: The Strawberry Melon Champagne Vinaigrette
- YES: Melon Ribbons. You can peel the melon in advance and store them in an airtight container or even ziplock bag.
- YES: Strawberry Slices. You can prep the strawberries by cutting off the tops and slicing them in advance. Store them in an airtight container or a ziplock bag. No more 2 days ahead of time.
I would NOT recommend making the zucchini ribbons in advance.
- Zucchini has a high water content as we know. It is best to peel the zucchini right before assembling the salad to prevent the zucchini from wilting and maintain the subtle crunch.
- Warning: The salad will become soggy as it sits. So it is best to eat freshly made.
- I have tried to salt the zucchini to draw out the moisture before assembling the salad however the zucchini becomes limp and looses its nice toothsome crunch.
Servings: 0
Equipment
- Vegetable Peeler
- Paring Knife
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 small Zucchini
- 1 Honeydew Melon 1/4 of the melon is enough
- 4 oz Prosciutto
- 8 oz Strawberries
- 8 oz Mozzarella Balls
- 1/3 cup Basil leaves
- 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
Strawberry Melon Champagne Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup Strawberries cut in half or quartered
- 1/2 cup Honeydew Melon cut in 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Champagne Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Tarragon chopped
Instructions
- Toast the Pine Nuts: Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. No need to add oil. Toast the pine nuts moving them around the pan occasionally until they are fragrant and start to turn golden brown in spots. Set aside.
- Prep the Melon Ribbons: Cut the Honeydew melon in half length wise. Scoop out the seeds. Cut 1 halve into 4 pieces length wise. Hold the base of the honeydew melon and using the vegetable peeler peel the flesh of the honeydew from one tip to the other tip. Discard the first piece because it won't come out pretty and continue peeling.
- Prep the Zucchini Ribbons (see note): Cut the end off of the zucchini and leave the stem on. Using the stem as a handle hold the zucchini and press the vegetable peeler pretty firmly down and peel from top to bottom. Discard the first 1-2 pieces since they will mostly be skin. Continue peeling until you reach seeds in the middle of the zucchini. Turn the zucchini over and repeat peeling the zucchini ribbon.
- Plate the Salad: Fold and curl the zucchini and melon ribbons onto the plate while layering for texture and height. Tear the prosciutto into smaller pieces, drape the pieces down and allow them to fold onto itself as you place them on top of the zucchini and melon ribbons. Scatter the strawberries and mozzarella balls evenly around the salad. Tuck in some small basil leaves and tear larger leaves. Sprinkle Pine nuts over top and lastly the fennel fronds if you have them.
- Dressing: Drizzle the dressing over the salad right before serving to prevent the salad from getting soggy.
Notes
NOTES:
Zucchini Ribbons: I do not recommend prepping the zucchini ribbons in advance as they have a high water content and the longer they sit out the more moisture will seep out of them causing he zucchini to become wilted and loose it's crunch. It is best to make the zucchini ribbons right before eating.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!