Recipe: Zucchini-and-Fennel Salad

This comes from the NYT mag, and it has a problem: sogginess. The finer you cut, slice, shave, or grate squash, the more water it releases. The writer, Daniel Patterson, alludes to this in the intro -- "One problem with squash is that it’s largely water, so my initial idea for a gratin prompted visions of a soggy mess" -- but the recipe itself has no such warning.

Zucchini-and-Fennel Salad With Pecorino and Mint

1 ¼ pounds zucchini

½ cup torn mint leaves

1 cup shaved aged pecorino Romano

1 small head fennel, cored and thinly shaved

Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Use a vegetable peeler or mandoline to thinly shave the zucchini lengthwise. In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini, mint, pecorino Romano, fennel, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Add more lemon juice or olive oil to taste. Serves 4.

We compounded the problem by grating the zucchini instead of using a mandoline (which we don't have) or vegetable peeler, but I would think the problem would remain even after using those instruments.

Other than the excess liquid at the bottom of the bowl, the salad was wonderful, a perfect balance of flavors. It begs the question, to which perhaps someone here has an answer: what's the best way to wring the water from the raw squash? Paper towels? Colander?

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