Marinate smaller zucchini for a cool summer salad

It's no coincidence that early August is when "National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day" pops up on the summer gardening calendar. (Aug. 8, actually.) By now, growers of summer squash have cooked through their usual repertoire and are desperate to deal with the squash harvest that Just. Keeps. Coming.

No need to tear out the plants just yet. Instead, harvest the squash when it's quite small -- a day or so after it makes an appearance -- and make this light and cool marinated zucchini salad, adapted from a recipe I found on the New York Times website.

It's easy to put together, is perfect for a potluck (nothing to spoil) and is delicious next to grilled chicken or a pile of fresh tomato slices. There is some marinating time involved, but a morning or night-before start is not hard to fit in.

I grow both green and yellow zucchini, which are beautiful together in the skinny slices, but use crookneck, patty pan or other summer squash available. Only caution: Do not use large ones! The squash must be tender for this salad, with no mature seeds. See the photo here for the maximum recommended size of a zucchini. Use a mandoline slicer if you have one to achieve very thin, even slices; I put my favorite serrated tomato-slicing knife to work for my salad.

The herbs can be any combination you like, but I strongly suggest including some mint leaves in the mix. I removed the smashed garlic cloves ahead of serving, but they could be minced and mixed in, if desired. Next time I'll add some zest from the lemon used for juice; that's included here as an option.

Lemon-marinated zucchini salad

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pound small summer squash, green, yellow or a combination

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

1 or 2 smashed garlic cloves (leave whole or at least in large pieces)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped herbs, such as parsley, dill, mint, basil, chives or a combination

Sea salt, to taste

Instructions:

Trim the squash and slice it very thin, about the width of a nickel (or, for our UK readers, a 2-pence coin). Place the slices in a bowl, sprinkle a big pinch of kosher salt over them, stir and then let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

Then place the squash slices in a colander and rinse them of the salt. Drain on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Put the slices in a large bowl or casserole dish.

Whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil, and stir in the lemon zest if using. Pour the marinade over the squash slices, add the garlic clove(s), and stir gently. Add a grind or two of black pepper, stir again, then cover the salad and refrigerate at least 4 hours, stirring the mixture once or twice during that time.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the salad from the refrigerator. Remove the garlic clove(s); if desired, mince it and stir back into the salad.

Chop the washed and dried herbs if you haven't already done so. Toss the herbs with the squash slices. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and more freshly ground black pepper,  then serve.