Monday, July 07, 2008

Squash Chagall

A little while ago I ran across a recipe on the interwebz for something called "Zucchini Carpaccio."
It was really cute, and really easy to reproduce. Or, in my case, riff on. I got the basic idea, and built one of my own with mache leaves and walnuts.
The idea is a layer of raw zucchini slices on a platter, dressed with a whitish dressing. Kind of like beef carpaccio is a layer of raw beef, thinly sliced, topped with a whitish dressing. Only this is vegetables, not meat. (I know. You already got that.)
At the end of the article, there was a spate of comments. One person snarked something like "Why are you calling it carpaccio? There is already carpaccio, and it's meat."
A subsequent commenter said that the beef dish was named in honor of an Italian artist known for his works in tones of red and white. In other words, "Carpaccio" is not meat, it's the name of a painter. I didn't know that. But... cool!
However, my Squash Carpaccio didn't come out red and white. It came out yellow and green and white with dribs of red chile powder. I proposed to Cranky that we call it "Squash Chagall." Just for fun.
And then... I discovered that today is Marc Chagall's birthday!

11 comments:

Kalyn Denny said...

Proves you must have been divinely inspired to name it after Chagall, wouldn't you say? (Looks tasty. Hmmm, I ate some zucchini today too.)

cookiecrumb said...

Kalyn: I got my radar fine-tuned!
And of course you ate some zucchini. It's summer.
:D

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

It does look awfully pretty and veru appetising. Gorgeous!

cookiecrumb said...

Aw, thanks, Holler. Nobody else seems to like it... Absence of comments, y'know... ;)
But it was good, and surprisingly filling (I suspect raw food is a harder "digest," and the walnuts contributed to that feeling).
Did somebody very tall take your picture?

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

I made that the other day, the zucchini carpaccio. It was good. I fried my leeks on top, though.

maybelles mom said...

very tasty.

Michelle said...

Looks fabulous! And being that it ended up being Marc Chagall's birthday, and a blogosphere theme, must have been all the planets and such aligning just for you!

Zoomie said...

You always come up with unusual combinations that make me think of new ways to serve the same old stuff.

Unknown said...

Mmmmm, I wonder if it would be good to do the thinly-sliced zucchini w/lime, olive oil, and salt like carpaccio the meat kind. Tasty treats!

Patricia Scarpin said...

I love the idea of a veggie carpaccio - this is super yummy, and healthy!

cookiecrumb said...

Nikki: Yowr! Yums.

Maybelles Parents: Tasty, and infinitely variable, methinks.

Michelle: Sometimes I scare myself. :)

Zoomie: This year there seems to be a flood of raw zucchini preparations, so I'm either inventive or a copycat.

Joanna: Totally. It could go a zillion ways. My personal experience, though, is to slice the zukes really thin.

Patricia: How lucky are we? Really tasty food that's good for us.