BLISTERED SUMMER SQUASH SALAD
June ushers in the start of summer grilling and outdoor living. A great addition to any barbeque is a colorful side dish using the season’s bounty of vegetables, such as zucchini and squash.
The zucchini and yellow squash coins are cooked in a hot cast-iron skillet until charred and finished with a smoky tomatillo sauce and a sprinkling of Cotija cheese. It’s smoky, bright, buttery, and briny all at once.
Yields four servings
INGREDIENTS
• 1 medium poblano chile
• 1 large unpeeled garlic clove
• 2 scallions, trimmed and halved crosswise
• 3 tomatillos (about 6 ounces), husks removed, quartered
• ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 firm-ripe avocado
• 3 yellow squash, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
• 3 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 3 cups)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more if needed
• Crumbled Cotija cheese, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high. Add poblano and garlic; cook, turning occasionally, until poblano is charred and garlic is softened, about 14 minutes. Add scallions; cook, turning occasionally, until charred in spots, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer poblano to a small bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap; let stand 5 minutes. Peel poblano; discard skin, stem, and seeds. Peel garlic.
2. Combine poblano, garlic, scallions, tomatillos, cilantro, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender. Peel and pit avocado; add a quarter of the avocado to blender. (Reserve remaining avocado for serving.) Process until just smooth, about 20 seconds.
3. Toss together yellow squash, zucchini, black pepper, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high. Working in batches, arrange squash mixture in a single layer in skillet; cook, undisturbed, until well browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip; cook until slightly blistered on the other side, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer cooked squash mixture to a wire rack. Repeat process with remaining squash mixture, adding additional oil if needed.
4. Thinly slice remaining avocado and arrange slices on a serving plate with cooked squash mixture. Drizzle with 1/3 cup tomatillo sauce. Garnish with cilantro and Cotija. Serve with remaining tomatillo sauce on the side.
Thanks to Food & Wine magazine for the recipe and photo, which originally appeared in the June 2024 magazine.
