Serves 6
Notes
Poached zucchini, cut into rounds or cubes, is a terrific salad ingredient. This salad is a lovely combination of tastes and colors but you can follow this basic approach without the potatoes, without the eggs, or even without the onions.
If you are preparing zucchini and potatoes for salad, it’s easy to cook them in one pot of water. Start boiling them together and remove the zucchini when they are “droopy” as described above. Usually the potatoes will need to cook a bit longer, until they are easily pierced with a fork or sharp knife. Let everything cool then toss your salad and dress it just before serving.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes (2 small potatoes are best)
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 pound small zucchini, poached whole, salted and cooled
- 2 hard boiled eggs
- 2/3 cup red onion slices, thin half-moons
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Put the whole, unpeeled potatoes in a pot of boiling unsalted water to cover. Bring to a boil, cooking steadily—but not violently—for 20 minutes. Remove the zucchini and test the potatoes—they should be easily pierced with a fork. Don’t let them crack or get mushy on the outside. When they are just cooked through, remove them, sprinkle the 1/4 teaspoon salt over them, and let cool.
Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut them crosswise into rounds, about 1/2 inches thick. (If the squash are “fat”, first slice them lengthwise to form half-round or quarter-round pieces). Peel the potatoes and cut roughly into 1-inch chunks, about the size of the zucchini. Peel the eggs and cut into wedges.
To finish the salad, toss the squash and potatoes pieces together in a bowl, scatter the egg wedges and onion slices on top and toss lightly. Drizzle over the olive oil and the vinegar, sprinkle on the salt and grinds of pepper, and toss thoroughly to distribute the seasonings.
Serve right away.
