youryum

Zucchini ribbon salad with lemon
youryum.com/recipes/zucchini-ribbon-salad · serves 4

Raw zucchini, sliced thin enough to matter

Raw zucchini is better than its reputation, but only if you shave it thin and give the salt ten minutes to work.

  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten free
By Dana Whitmore · Recipe developer
Published 19 July 2026
Share it Jump to recipe Pin it Send it
Shaved zucchini ribbons dressed with lemon and almonds
Photo: avlxyz · CC BY-SA 2.0
Pin it for later
Prep
10 min
Cook
5 min
Total
15 min
Serves
4
Per serving
187kcal
Effort
Easy

Thick raw zucchini is boring. There is no arguing with that, and it is why most people who say they dislike raw courgette have only ever eaten it in batons.

Shaved to about a millimetre it stops behaving like a vegetable stick and starts behaving like a leaf. It folds, it holds dressing in its curls, and ten minutes of salt turns the squeaky texture into something closer to silk. Those two moves are the whole recipe.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Equipment

  • Vegetable peeler or mandoline

Method

  1. Shave, and stop at the core

    Run a peeler down the length of each zucchini, turning it a quarter turn every few strokes so you work evenly around the outside. When you reach the pale seedy middle, stop and move to the next one.

    That core is the wettest part and it will not hold dressing. Save it for a soup or a stock rather than putting it in the bowl.

  2. Salt and wait

    Toss the ribbons with the fine salt in a colander and leave them ten minutes. Liquid starts collecting underneath within two, which is the clearest evidence you will ever get that this step is doing something.

    Do not rinse afterwards. Shake the colander, then blot the ribbons with a tea towel. Rinsing washes off the seasoning you have just spent ten minutes working into them.

  3. Toast the almonds

    Dry pan, medium heat, four to five minutes, shaking often. They are ready when they smell nutty and the edges have taken colour.

    Tip them straight out of the pan onto a cold plate. Nuts carry on cooking in hot metal and the gap between golden and burnt is under a minute.

  4. Dress at the last possible moment

    Whisk the lemon juice, zest and oil with a pinch of salt. Pour it over the ribbons and lift them with your hands, which works far better than tongs for something this delicate.

    Then get it on the table.

    Fifteen minutes after dressing, the acid has done its work and the ribbons go limp and weepy. This is not a salad you make ahead, and it is not one that survives a car journey to a picnic.

What's in it

Nutrition, buying and storage notes for the ingredients this recipe leans on.

Zucchini 17.9 mg vitamin c

Why salting works, briefly

Zucchini is 94.8 per cent water by weight. Salt on the surface draws that water out through the cell walls, and what stays behind is more concentrated in flavour and structurally softer.

The same principle is why salted aubergine fries better and why a salted cucumber salad is not a puddle by the time it reaches the table.

Getting the thickness right

Aim for a ribbon you can see light through at the edges. If the strips stand up on their own in the bowl, they are too thick, and no amount of dressing will fix the texture.

A cheap swivel peeler with a slightly loose blade actually does this better than an expensive rigid one, because it flexes over the curve of the vegetable.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 187 kcal
Protein 5 g
Carbohydrate 8 g
Fibre 3 g
Fat 15 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I make this ahead?
Shave and salt the zucchini up to two hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Dress it at the table. Once the lemon juice is on, you have about fifteen minutes before the texture goes.
Do I have to salt it?
For this one, yes. Without salting, the water comes out anyway, it just comes out into the bowl and dilutes the dressing to nothing.
Is it enough for a meal?
Not on its own. It is a side, or a starter. Add a tin of white beans and it becomes lunch.
What can I use instead of almonds?
Toasted pine nuts, pistachios, or breadcrumbs fried in olive oil. You want something crisp against the soft ribbons; the specific nut matters less than the contrast.

Filed under

All recipes →