One of the most inspirational cookbooks I’ve purchased in the past few years was Ottolenghi’s Plenty and one of my favorite recipes in the whole gorgeous book is An Ottolenghi Fave: Grilled Zucchini and Basil Salad. I love to make it deep in the Summer as an alternative to Caprese. Plenty is a vegetarian cookbook full of gorgeous vegetable centered dishes. I’ve enjoyed many of the recipes or used them as inspiration to create my own veggie-centric dishes. I have to say, the only downside is some of the recipes do seem particularly well-tested, but in terms of brilliant ideas, Plenty can’t be beat. And this particular recipe is perfect and ready to go, especially in the summer. The genius of this Ottolenghi Fave: Grilled Zucchini and Basil Salad is recognizing that basil is so delicious and abundant in July and August that there’s no reason to use it as an herb or an adornment. Skip the lettuce altogether and eat more basil in my Ottolenghi Fave: Grilled Zucchini and Basil Salad. It doesn’t hurt to add a special cheese like the pepper laced pecorino I have pictured above and lots of crunchy toasted hazelnuts. If you have the luxury … Continue reading →