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There’s nothing I love better in the summer than salads. Produce is at its most fresh and you don’t have to heat up the oven, so without a lot of effort or know how you can have a lovely meal on the table.  I made this salad this past weekend for a cookout. It made a good addition to the side dish options. Because there’s no lettuce it’s pretty sturdy if it has to sit on the potluck table for a bit. And I am always looking for a way to use up zucchini – summer’s most plentiful vegetable!

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I bought some capers to add to this salad, but forgot to include them. I still think they’d be a welcome addition. I also find that this salad gets better with a little age – a couple hours or even overnight really helps the flavors to meld. If you’ve got some of the salad leftover, it makes a great topping for homemade pizza.

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Chopped Ratatouille Salad

Serves 8 – 10 as a side dish

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3  small zucchini

1 eggplant

2 red peppers

1 red onion

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

8oz  kalamata olives – pitted and chopped

1 cup parsley, finely chopped

1/2 cup mint, finely shopped

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

olive oil

1/2 cup vinaigrette (homemade or my old standby)

sal & pepper

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Chop the zucchini, eggplant, red peppers and onion into large bite sized pieces.

Sauté the chopped vegetables individually in a small amount of olive oil on medium high heat in a large skillet.

Cook the vegetables until they are tender but still firm. Don’t overcook them. No mushy zucchini!

After each vegetable is finished cooking add it to a large serving bowl.

Turn the heat on the skillet up to high. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until tender. Again, avoid the mush.

Add the garlic to the tomatoes for the last 30 seconds of cooking.

Mix the cooked vegetables with the olives, parsley, mint, feta and vinaigrette.

Sample the salad and add salt, pepper and more vinaigrette to taste.

Serve at room temperature.

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