Grilled Zucchini with Za’atar Vinaigrette

I fell in love with Lebanese food the year I lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Now I seek out Lebanese recipes to experiment with at home. I found this one on David Lebovitz’s awesome site.

Za’atar is a combination of sesame seeds, sumac, and some herbs. Mixed with some mustard, oil and vinegar it makes a lovely dressing for grilled veggies. I made zucchini for this post, but later used it on other veggies as well, and all were delicious.

I can hardly wait until the zucchini in my garden are ready, and I can make this again.

What you need:

• 1 kg zucchini
• 2 tablespoons sherry or cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus some for the zucchini)
• 4 teaspoons za’atar
• 1/4 teaspoon sumac (optional)

What you do:

1. Slice the zucchini to 1/4 inch, as evenly as possible so you don’t have parts that burn. Using a mandoline works well. Toss the slices in a some olive oil.
2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients to make the vinaigrette.
3. Heat the grill and brush it with some olive oil. Grill the zucchini slices until they are charred on each side.
4. Arrange the zucchini on a platter and pour some dressing over the slices.