This Marinated Zucchini Salad has olives, artichoke hearts, and red pepper, and this is the perfect low-carb alternate to pasta salad.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 small zucchini, cut into half moon slices about 1/2 inch thick (or bite sized pieces)
- one 6 oz. can large pitted black olives, drained very well
- 6 oz. marinated artichoke hearts, drained very well (or more, see notes)
- 1 red pepper chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 red onion chopped into bite-sized pieces (optional)
DRESSING INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (see notes)
- 2 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 T dried basil (see notes)
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
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INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut zucchini into quarter slices or bite sized pieces. (If you’re using large zucchini, cut away the seeds and most of the white part.)
- Steam or stir-fry zucchini until barely tender/crisp, about 3 minutes for steaming and slightly longer for pan frying, then drain very well.
- While zucchini is cooking, open olives and artichoke hearts and dump into a colander to drain well. (Draining the zucchini and olives well is essential or the finished salad will be watery.)
- Chop the red bell pepper (and red onion if using) into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine zucchini, olives, artichoke hearts, red pepper (and red onion if using) in Ziploc bag (or plastic or glass container with a snap-tight lid.)
- Pour dressing over, just enough to cover veggies, and stir gently. (I only use part of the dressing to marinate the veggies and then stir in a little more dressing when I serve it.)
- Marinate in refrigerator 4-8 hours.
- If you can turn it over once in a while to keep the vegetables covered with dressing that would be great, but it’s not essential.
- Just before serving stir in a little of the reserved dressing and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle the salad with the other 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese when serving.
- At the risk of sounding like a cheese snob, let me say that this is best with freshly grated cheese. I like to grate it on the large side of the grater and serve the salad with the final sprinkle of grated cheese not mixed in. However if all you have is pre-grated Parmesan, not to worry. It will still be yummy.
NOTES
Use more or less artichoke hearts, depending on how expensive they are when you’re looking for them. If you have some you can replace the dried basil with 2 T basil pesto or 3 T. finely chopped fresh basil for the dressing.
I use Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) to make this salad, but use any vinaigrette that’s low in sugar.
If you’re looking at the carb count, remember that artichokes are high in fiber, so low in net carbs.
This recipe created by Kalyn many years ago!
NUTRITION INFORMATION
Yield
6
Serving Size
1Amount Per ServingCalories100Total Fat6gSaturated Fat2gTrans Fat0gUnsaturated Fat3gCholesterol7mgSodium452mgCarbohydrates9gFiber3gSugar3gProtein5g