Cold Soak Zucchini Ribbon Salad
Dried zucchini, kale, raisins, and pine nuts rehydrated cold, dressed with oil, lemon, and honey.
- calories
- 690
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 153
- protein
- 16 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 180 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Cold soak
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Bikepacking
- Day hike
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dehydrated zucchini | 1 cup, loosely packed | peeled into ribbons before drying, not coins |
|---|---|---|
| Dried baby kale | 1/4 cup, crumbled | dries in an hour and weighs nothing |
| Raisins | 2 tbsp | |
| Pine nuts | 2 tbsp | toasted at home so they do not go soft |
| Sourdough croutons | 1/2 cup | cut chunky, dried hard in the oven |
| Hard aged cheese | 1 oz | pecorino or aged goat gouda in place of fresh chevre |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Lemon powder or a lemon juice packet | 1 tsp | |
| Honey | 1 tsp | a squeeze packet, or sub 1 tsp sugar |
| Dried mint | 1 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Put the zucchini, kale, raisins, lemon powder, mint, salt, and pepper in the jar. Add 180 ml of cold water.
- Seal and shake. Let it sit 45 minutes. The zucchini goes from brittle to bendy and the kale loses its crunch.
- Pour off any water that did not get absorbed. Standing water thins the dressing.
- Add the oil and honey, seal, and shake again until everything is coated.
- Crumble in the cheese, add the pine nuts and croutons, stir once, and eat. The croutons soften within a few minutes.
Zucchini is 95 percent water, which makes it a bad thing to carry and a good thing to dry. Peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, it dries fast and rehydrates in cold water in under an hour, coming back with enough bite to still read as a raw salad rather than mush. That is the whole reason this one works without a stove.
The fresh version leans on goat cheese and just-torn kale. Neither survives a pack, so the cheese becomes a hard aged wedge that keeps at ambient temperature and the kale gets dried with everything else. Drain the soaking water before dressing. Two tablespoons of oil is most of the calories here, and it will slide off a wet salad instead of sticking to it.
Packing
Zucchini, kale, raisins, mint, lemon powder, salt, and pepper go in one jar or bag at home. Pine nuts and croutons ride in a small separate bag so they stay crisp until the end. Cheese and oil pack apart from everything.
Variations
- Swap the croutons for corn nuts or crushed crackers if you want the crunch to survive longer.
- No dehydrator: dried zucchini and kale keep well in a low oven overnight, or buy freeze-dried zucchini.
- Skip the cheese and honey and it is a vegan lunch, though you lose most of the protein.
https://blog.9jakitchen.com/courgette-ribbon-salad-recipe