Zucchini and White Bean Caesar

On hot summer days a big Caesar salad is the meal for me. While I’ll never turn down the classic version, there are plenty of vegetables besides lettuce that take well to the Caesar treatment. I personally like raw zucchini. Crisp in texture and mellow in flavor like romaine, summer squash is infinitely easier to wash and dry than sandy creviced leaves. Just give them a quick rinse, peel into thin ribbons, and salt. Because salad alone is not a meal, canned white beans join the party—I like fat cannellini or butter beans, but anything from navy beans to chickpeas will do. And don’t forget the quickest croutons around: torn crusty bread tossed in a little hot oil in a pan until golden brown and crisp. (But if you absolutely can’t bear to turn on the stovetop, just use store-bought croutons.)

Like any classic Caesar, this dressing starts with a mayonnaise-ish base, which means egg yolks. The yolks impart a rich flavor and velvety texture to the dressing, but more importantly they work with the garlic and mustard as an emulsifier, helping to bind together the oil and lemon juice. If you’re not into raw yolks, you can coddle them by boiling the eggs in a small pot of water for exactly one minute, then shocking them in ice water before separating the still-soft yolk from the semi-set white.

Got more summer squash than you can handle? For more zucchini recipes and summer squash recipes, click the links.