Roasted Zucchini Salad

Whether you're looking to up your veggie side dish game, or only an indulgent way to spruce up your next dinner party, this Roasted Zucchini Salad is a delicious winner every time. Aaaand....it only takes all of 30 minutes to make!

Fancy without the fuss?

Say hello to your new favourite salad—a baked-until-bronzed medley of zucchini and potatoes with fresh pops of flavour from green peas and fresh fennel. Only to be finished off by a sweet honey mustard dressing and sprigs of fresh oregano.

This unicorn of veggie-side dishes is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. It pairs well with any protein, or just eaten as is with a side of hummus for a very satisfying light summer dinner.

This salad is almost too pretty to eat and so easy to make.

While testing this recipe, I tried two ways to make this salad: I threw everything (potatoes & zucchini) on a sheet pan and kept the fennel fresh and then baked for 40-50 minutes (yes, it took that long). For the second attempt, I boiled the new potatoes for ten minutes and then tossed the zucchini, potatoes, and fennel together; drizzled with olive oil and baked for ten minutes.

The winner was the second attempt! 

Not only did I save time, but cooking the fennel mellowed out its strong flavour. So blanching the potatoes is the best method for whipping up this salad in record time. Both methods resulted in a very yummy salad, but I prefer the taste and timing of the second attempt.

Although, if you're all about slow-living/slow-cooking, by all means throw everything on the sheet pan drizzle with olive oil and cozy up with a good book while you enjoy the slow drifting aromas of roasting vegetables fill your home.

I chose to use the mandoline for slicing the potatoes in the photo but you can skip this option and just quarter them.

The Mind-Blowing Zucchini Fact?

Are you ready to have your mind-blown?

Zucchini is actually a BERRY! 🤯

Here you are, all these years, just living your life, and now you've just learned that zucchini—this thing you've always known as a vegetable—is actually a BERRY.

The plant world is a wild place, my friends, it's full of delightful discoveries: melons, cucumbers, and all squash are part of the Cucurbita pepo plant family. Botanically, zucchinis are fruits, a type of botanical berry called a "pepo", being the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. (1.)

Chew on that one!

A Plethora of Zucchini — Problem Solved!

If you've ever grown zucchini or know someone who loves vegetable gardening, you would know how this seemingly sweet little plant can grow into a plethora of produce. While you're grateful for the bounty, it can be a bit stressful to figure out what to do with it. Your pile of rapidly softening green, tube-like vegetables sitting on your kitchen counter or in your fridge taking up space. It may seem like a problem at first, but the reality is: it's more of a creative challenge on what to do with this abundance before it goes bad.

The people of the Mediterranean have the answer to solving this problem, and in the most delicious fashion too. Here are just a few tasty ideas to gobble up your plethora of zucchini:

• Roast
• Grill
• Stuff
• Stew
• Fry
• Make noodles
• Toss them into a salad
• Use in fritters
• In Falafels (yep, that's right! you can add it to your fav falafel recipe)

There is no shortage of ideas for ways to use the zucchini. 

Question and Answers

What can I use instead of fennel? 

I understand not everyone loves fennel, and you may find that it overpowers the dish; especially if it's really small and fresh. It's a good idea to taste the fennel first to ensure the flavours aren't too bold for your taste. This recipe is still delicious even without the fennel, so feel free to leave it out.

What can I use instead of green peas? 

Asparagus, roasted broccoli, green beans or snap peas would make excellent substitutes.

Nut allergy

If you have an allergy to nuts you can use pumpkin seeds or sunflowers to give the salad a delightful crunchy factor.

Tools you need:

• Mandoline
• Large sheet pan
• Medium-sized pot
• A fast boiling Kettle
• A large serving plate
• Serving spoons

Wondering what else to serve this with?

• Za'atar Chicken 
• Easiest Grilled Greek Chicken
• Middle Eastern Roasted Chicken 

IF YOU LOVE MEDITERRANEAN RECIPES, subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates and recipes. 

Roasted Zucchini Salad

Sarah

This salad is a delicious baked-until-bronzed medley of zucchini and potatoes, fresh pops of flavour from green peas and fresh fennel. Only to be finished off by a sweet honey mustard dressing, sprigs of fresh oregano and a satisfying crunch of almonds.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 4

Calories 344 kcal

Ingredients

  

Zucchini Salad

• 1.5 lb 680g bag of Mini Potatoes.
• 1 large Green Zucchini thinly sliced
• 1 large Yellow Zucchini thinly sliced
• 1 fennel bulb thinly sliced
• Olive oil as needed
• 1 cup frozen peas blanched in hot water
• ¼ cup fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried Oregano
• ⅔ cup toasted flaked almonds

Honey Mustard Dressing: 

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain Mustard
• 1 lemon juiced and zested
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon each of salt & freshly ground peppercorns

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
• Prepare your potatoes: You have two different choices on how to cut the potatoes for this recipe. The first choice: slice the potatoes with a mandoline. The second choice: quarter the potatoes. It's really up to you on how you would like them to be cut.
• Heat a kettle: fill your kettle with water and bring to a boil. I recommend doing this while you're preparing the vegetables.
• Blanch the Potatoes. Rinse the potatoes and add them to a medium-sized pot. Fill the pot with the boiled water from the kettle. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water, heat on medium-high for about 7-10 minutes. (depending on your stovetop it may be even quicker). Your potatoes should be half cooked and still firm when removing them from the water.
• Blanch the peas. Add the peas to a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Cover the bowl and allow to cook in the hot water for 5-8 minutes. It's best to do this while the potatoes are cooking. After 5-8 minutes drain the peas.
• Fill the baking sheet: Add the sliced fennel, zucchini and potatoes to the prepared sheet pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil and add salt. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 5minutes, after 5 minutes, flip the ingredients to ensure even cooking. Let bake until all the vegetables are soft and golden, about 10 minutes longer.
• Prepare the dressing. In a small jar with a lid, add all the dressing ingredients and give it a good shake, then set aside.
• Assemble the salad. Place the roasted vegetables on a large serving platter. Next, you're going to layer the garnish in this order for a beautiful presentation: start with the peas, dressing, almonds and finally the oregano. There you have it! A delicious and beautiful salad, easy enough for a weekend dinner and fancy enough to spoil your guest.

Keyword Easy cooking, family gathering, plant-based meals, Salads, zucchini recipes