Why This Recipe Works

Sautéing the zucchini briefly softened its texture and made a pleasing contrast to the crisp Persian cucumbers; refrigerating the zucchini halted the cooking, and draining it removed moisture that would have made the salad watery. Toasting the pine nuts deepened their nutty flavor. Lemon juice and sumac combined with olive oil made for a simple, bright-tasting dressing. Flake sea salt seasoned the salad and contributed another textural element to the mix.

Before You Begin

This recipe was designed to use the squash cores and trimmings from our Kousa Mihshi (Lebanese Stuffed Squash) recipe. If you'd like to make this salad separately from the kousa mihshi, substitute 3 cups of finely chopped zucchini (two small zucchini) for the cores and trimmings. If you can't find Persian cucumbers, substitute half an English cucumber.

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add zucchini cores and trimmings and ½ teaspoon table salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is slightly softened but skin on trimmings is still vibrant green, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl. Transfer to refrigerator to drain and cool, at least 10 minutes.

Whisk lemon juice, pepper, sumac, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and remaining ¼ teaspoon table salt together in serving bowl. Chop half of mint. Add chopped mint, zucchini mixture, cucumber, parsley, and pine nuts to dressing and toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup mint leaves and flake sea salt to taste, and serve.