I can’t believe it’s already the end of August, Labor Day weekend, and, therefore, mentally, the end of the summer. The older I get, the faster the summers (and years, for that matter) pass by. Looking back, it was a good summer. We enjoyed most weekends at our lake cottage, hosting visitors from near and far. We celebrated a family wedding in Delaware, the first for the next generation. We had an enjoyable evening in Boston with my sister Jennifer and her family as they came to town before embarking on a cruise to Canada. The weather even seemed cooperative. I can’t recall many rainy weekends, anyway.

The final “summer” recipe for French Fridays with Dorie was an interesting one: minted zucchini tagliatelle with cucumbers and lemon, a vegetable salad. The recipe indicated that it wouldn’t keep long, so I adjusted this for one zucchini’s worth instead of the full amount.

I got a chance to pull out my Super Benriner. I’ve had it for years, but seldom think to use it. As an accident-prone cook, any device that has “Watch Your Fingers Please” embossed on the plastic casing gives me pause.

The zucchini is sliced into long planks which are then combined with chopped cucumber, onion (I substituted scallion), and lemon zest, then tossed with a light lemon dressing. The recipe calls for pistachio oil. I didn’t have that, nor did I have time to track it down this week, so I just went with olive oil. The final additions are fresh chopped mint and a healthy dose of pepper.

Mint Straight from the Backyard

I think a picture would have helped this recipe. Tagliatelle is wide like fettuccine, not the width of a small zucchini. There weren’t further instructions to slice the thin slabs into smaller strips, so I just went with it as written.

Here’s my verdict on this one. I loved the flavors and the colors. The lemony dressing with the fresh mint was wonderfully fresh. I’m not used to eating raw zucchini, but that wasn’t an issue. I think what put me off were the huge zucchini strips mixed the chopped garnishing vegetables. I didn’t like having to cut up the zucchini to enjoy this. If I make it again, I’ll definitely just chop up the zucchini (without the seeds) along with the cucumber and onion. To me, it would improve on the eating part of the experience.

Typically, we don’t share the recipes for this cooking group, but I found the recipe here on Epicurious.

Of course, you can also find it in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. You should also check out the other French Friday’s interpretations of this recipe here.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend, all!