Grilled Zucchini and Leek Salad

Another gem of a Bon Appétit salad. Simplicity at its finest, really. I hadn’t ever thought to grill a leek, but it makes perfect sense that it would be as delicious as it was. Grilled onions are awesome after all. After my anti-toasting confession, I went ahead and dry toasted the walnuts in this salad. Not only did they smell great, but mixing their warmth with the olive oil, lemon, and garlic was really quite heavenly.

It comes together almost unnecessarily quick since it’s just grill and slice. Sometimes that’s all I want to do. Spending more time slicing ingredients than eating is usually unfulfilling. I don’t get any sort of warm fuzzies doing it, unless I’m cooking for other people. I’ll gladly do it for you.

Inspiration: Bon Appétit

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large leeks, dark green parts removed, sliced in half length-wise
• 2 large zucchini, sliced in half length-wise
• 1/2 up flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped [remove any tough stems, unless you like eating grass]

Preparation

Preheat your grill to medium, or about 400°. In a large dry skillet, toast the walnuts on a medium-high heat. Stir them often so they don’t burn. They’ll darken in color and smell delicious when they’re done, which is about 5 minutes. In a bowl, toss the warm walnuts with three tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice, and garlic. Set aside.

Cover the leeks and zucchini in the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Place them cut side down on the hot grill. Turn then often until char marks appear. The leek will finish faster than the zucchini. Be careful not to leave everything on too long so it wilts — 5-8 minutes for the leek and 8-10 minutes for the zucchini.

Remove everything to a cutting board. When it’s cool enough to handle, chop into bite sized pieces and add to your bowl with the walnuts and oil mixture. Add the parsley. Toss to combine. Serve with a liberal seasoning of salt and pepper.