Now, the carpaccio:
I was inspired by the recipe for Zucchini Carpaccio with Raspberry Vinegar in the Chocolate and Zucchini Cookbook by Clotilde Dusoulier. But, I think I strayed far enough with the basic concept to call it my own. To her, I owe the idea of arranging thin slices of zucchini, sprinkling them with an herb, salt, pepper, olive oil, vinegar and cheese.The addition of sliced tomato was entirely my own. While her recipe calls for thyme and I could have gotten some, I was using tomato so why not put basil on it. I think it worked. Tomato, basil, and zucchini are all summertime flavours. They should work together and to my mind they did.
The original recipe calls for raspberry vinegar, but I wasn't about to buy some (and it really wouldn't go so well with tomato). So, I subbed in some red wine vinegar and it tasted good to me. The Amateur Gourmet made the recipe truer to Clotilde's vision with balsamic vinegar and liked it, actually she recommends balsamic as a variation in the book. (Looking at his photo, I'd say my knife skills were better than his. Those are some thick slices. Too bad I'm not such a good writer.)
As for the cheese I sprinkled on top, it's Parmesan, nice and Italian to go with tomatoes and basil. Clotilde recommends the use of Parmesan in variations on this dish. So, I guess I didn't stray too far. Basically, you layer up the ingredients, put on the oil and vinegar dressing, and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Then, you cover it with plastic and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. This is what you get:
What you're probably wondering about is how it is to eat raw zucchini. It's important to use fairly small and very fresh zucchini, mine was cut that day. It's crispy and slightly sweet, really enjoyable and totally different from cooked. I love the idea of eating things in an unconventional state, like raw zucchini or perhaps conversely cooked cucumber.
So, if you're confronted with a glut of zucchini right now as many gardeners are, consider cutting some young and tender ones and experiencing them raw. As a bonus, you don't have to turn on the stove on a hot day to make this. I made it on a very hot day and appreciated the dish's coolness.
