I have never once woken up on a cold January day and longed for pesto or summer squash. It doesn’t even occur to my taste buds in the winter. But like clockwork around this time each summer — usually when it’s only the first week of July but already hot enough that I cannot even remember why I live in NYC, where it currently as stagnant and steamy as a bathroom after a shower with none of the hygienic aromatics, seriously, why do I, I digress — it is all I want to eat.
One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is to give things that are not pasta the pasta treatment. I love and adore pasta. I don’t want to live a life without it. I just think a lot of the things that taste good on pasta taste good elsewhere — see the viral one-pot pasta reimagined on farro, or giant white beans given the baked ziti treatment. Here, something similar happens with smaller white beans. Rolling them around in a pesto vinaigrette and letting ribbons of grilled lemony zucchini wind around them then finishing the whole thing with a blanket of grated parmesan is my current summer fixation. I made it a couple weeks ago because I was craving it. I hadn’t expected anyone else to be into it, but everyone was so enthusiastic, I’ve made it weekly since. I hope you find it equally habit-forming.
Previously
One year ago: Grilled Pizza
Two years ago: Funnel Cake
Three years ago: Oven Ribs, Even Better
Four years ago: Blue and Red Berry Ricotta Galette
Five years ago: Peach and Pecan Sandy Crumble
Six years ago: Chopped Salad with Feta, Lime and Mint and Flag Cake
Seven years ago: Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad
Eight years ago: Bread and Butter Pickles, Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart, and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Nine years ago: Strawberries and Dumplings and Horseradish Potato Salad
Ten years ago: Zucchini Strand Spaghetti
Eleven years ago: Dilled Potato and Pickled Cucumber Salad and Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake
And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread
1.5 Years Ago: Chicken Wonton Soup
2.5 Years Ago: The Browniest Cookies and Gingerbread Layer Cake
3.5 Years Ago: Deep Dark Gingerbread Waffles and Fairytale of New York
4.5 Years Ago: Gingerbread Snacking Cake and Rum Campari Punch
Grilled Zucchini Ribbons with Pesto and White Beans
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, thinner longer ones are ideal here
- Olive oil
- Coarse or kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon
- 1 3/4 cups (from 1 15-ounce can) small-to-medium-sized white beans, drained (I used – Goya’s Great Northern beans)
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- A 2-ounce bundle of basil (this is the small clamshell size at most groceries)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Coarsely grated parmesan, to taste
On a grill (I use the full heat, but have a dinky, small grill; you might find a more moderate heat better here) or a grill pan, grill zucchini in a single layer until grill marks appear underneath, then flip over and repeat the same on the other side. Transfer zucchini back to platter and squeeze lemon juice over it.
Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine basil and garlic with a few good pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper until chopped. Drizzle in olive oil until it blends smoothly; you’ll want about 4, sometimes 5, tablespoons. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and blend until well-mixed; taste and add more vinegar, up to 1 more tablespoon, to taste. Season to taste.
Combine beans with about 2/3 of the dressing in a small bowl. In a larger bowl or serving platter, pour half of dressed beans in the bottom. Arrange grilled zucchini on top, twisting and turning it so that it looks extra ribbony. Spoon remaining beans in the spaces. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the platter, to taste.
Finish with a light blanket of parmesan and eat whenever you’re ready. As assembled, it keeps well at room temperature for an hour, giving you time to do everything else.
summer perfection!
Jum! Ok now I’m craving this as well. Interesting to put vinegar in pesto but I do love acidity with anything beany so will give it a try!
I agree that a lot of the things that taste good on pasta taste good elsewhere so I have been experimenting with new uses for pesto as well. In the past week, I’ve found that pesto is great on roasted potatoes and stirred into a quinoa salad.
I concur! I made a pesto butter that’s going on toast and eggs and pasta and anything else I think of.
Okay now I really want pesto butter. Great idea.
Yes! I forgot I’d done a pesto potato salad with green beans a few years ago. Okay, many years ago. This is why I forgot. :)
We had some deviled eggs made with pesto the other day, and we’re not looking back.
We had pesto on grilled corn on the cob last night. Look forward to trying this!
I will be harvesting lots of zucchini from the garden. This is a terrific recipe because it incorporates protein (beans), which I’m always wanting to include in our vegetarian meals. Thanks, Deb!
Wow, you make zucchini look heavenly. Stay cool! :)
I am so happy that you are posting more recipes that are dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free. It might not be intentional but definitely appreciated. I know this recipe has parmesan but that’s an easy substitute/deletion. I won’t be making this for another week since the summer squash and zucchini in my garden need to get just a bit bigger…but it will be on the menu rotation next week. Thank you!
Deb – How do you think this would be with raw zucchini? I confess I don’t love it cooked, but do like it raw …. Thank you!
I had a chef prepared appetizer in Tuscany that blew our socks off using thinly sliced raw zucchini with a good olive oil. I can picture this working in this dish and sounds delish.
For raw, I’d just ribbon it thinner — like here.
I think you would like the Zucchini Carpaccio recipe from the Gourmet Weekday cookbook. It is devine!
My new craving – zoodles with pesto. If you don’t have a spiral-er, use a vegetable peeler. Now adding beans for the protein. I also made my pesto last night with 1/2 tarragon because I have it in the garden.
We planted two small gardens and our backyard is overgrown with zucchini. I had two large zucchini that I sliced 1/8 inch lengthwise. Spritzed with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs and cracked pepper and grilled. Heated the beans with same herbs a dash of olive oil and the pesto. I did want to add a meat so I roasted some sweet Italian sausage to serve with the beans and veggies . Locatelli cheese finished off a great meal. Love all of your recipes. Might experiment with this as a rollatini.
This is one of the BEST combos of flavors. Now I’m craving this, too!
The look on Jacob’s face ( adoring) as he watches Anna’s antics has warmed my heart ( in a good way). Heaven knows my heart has been warmed these last few days, but not by such a darling duo. This zucchini/squash combo will hit the spot! Wayyyy to hot to cook in the metro NY area.
This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. Thanks Deb! Made tonight and it was magnificent w/leftover chickpeas and some of those toasted walnuts you recommended. Cannot wait to try it again.
Made this and added the buratta and some grilled homemade sourdough (hubby became one of those pandemic sourdough bread makers). Heaven!
Oh my gaaaaaaaah I made this tonight. Too hot to grill so I roasted the zucchini and also used the burrata instead of Parmesan. This was the PERFECT summer dish for a hot Houston night! I served it with a couple of slices of Italian bread and my husband and I piled the salad on the bread and just moaned. LOL! Thanks for another amazing dish!!
I am hooked on white beans! You have inspired me once again. =)
I crave all things pesto. We grow a tremendous amount of basil. I make the pesto in little containers and pop them in the freezer for use all year round. I am definitely adding this recipe to my repertoire. Did you know that in the culture basil is a symbol of love?
I really enjoy white beans but I’ve never managed to cook the dried been successfully.
I know this recipe calls for canned white beans, but if I wanted to start from dried white beans do you have a go to recipe or method?
Deb discusses cooking dried beans here (though with a different type of bean): https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/05/a-really-great-pot-of-chickpeas/
Here’s a fairly foolproof method for dried beans in general: soak beans 8 hours or overnight. Drain and add fresh water to the pot, covering the beans by several inches. (Do not add salt yet.) Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer till beans are tender. Still a teaspoon of salt – or to taste – into the pot of cooked beans. If you’ve soaked the beans well and they are fairly fresh, cooking time could be as little as 30 to 45 minutes. But if the beans are really dried (have been in the back of the cupboard for more than a year, for example), it could take up to two hours of simmering. So allow plenty of time when cooking beans. Prepare them a day in advance if you like. Also, they freeze well so it makes sense to make a double batch and tuck some in your freezer for next time.
What Anita said! Soaking isn’t absolutely necessary, especially if your beans aren’t too old, it just saves cooking time.
Hi Deb! Thank you for posting such amazing recipes. I have both your books and they, together with the site have really changed the way my husband and I eat and helped us to save a lot of $$ on our food budget without having to compromise our foody tastes. :-) Question: How long/well do you think this would keep in the fridge if I doubled it? I have a huge quantity of summer squash and Rancho Gordo mayacoba beans sitting around.
Thank you. I think it would keep for a few days uncompromised. You can always hold back a little vinaigrette until the end to refresh it. Are the mayocoba medium-sized? Just had a great salad yesterday with medium-sized white beans and am now obsessed.
What a great summer recipe. I’d for sure want to grill the zucchini. Thanks for sharing Deb.
My husband and I are probably the only people on earth who do not like basil pesto. I wonder what other herb might be good with this besides basil…maybe oregano and parsley?
Happy Independence Day. I think America is looking pretty good for being 242 years old!
Thanks for your thought provoking and fun blog as always!
You can make pesto from any greens you like. What herbs do you generally like with beans (or with zucchini)? Use those.
We love a basil pesto, but also often make pesto from a mix of sharper greens — mizuna, arugula, radish greens (maybe even a few radishes thrown in). A bit kickier. Add parsley if you like (great way to use up what always seems to be endless quantities of parsley). Celery leaves if you’ve got ’em. Mint if you like it with beans. You can use milder greens (like baby lettuce, baby kale, etc.) to add bulk and temper the stronger herbs like mint, if need be.
Seconded! My “pesto” recipe at this point has loosened to be “a green thing, a nut thing, and a hardish probably white cheese + olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon” Turnip greens, walnuts, and a hard sheep cheese that I cannot remember the name of is my current favorite.
If you can buy carrots with their tops, carrot top pesto has been a recent favorite of mine.
I often make pesto in the winter from blanched kale (not baby kale). Blanch for one minute then shock in cold water. Delicious and much cheaper than basil.
About how much pesto do you end up with here? I already made a giant batch and froze it. Just curious how much I should try defrosting for this.
Maybe 1/2 cup but there’s vinegar in it too so you’ll want to tweak what you have frozen to taste.
Looks so delicious and comforting…
i made this yesterday with a few tweaks and it was delicious — so summery! perfect for a grill-out.
I used pre-made pesto and i marinated the zucchini for a few hours ahead (lemon juice, vinegar, thyme, salt/pepper & olive oil).
this will go on permanent summer rotation!
Love the suggestion of marinating the zucchini sounds great – thanks!
This was perfect for a steamy July 4th in Chicago. Preparing the zucchini on my round grill pan took much longer than I expected though so it wasn’t a “quick” recipe for me. I would consider doing rounds next time to make it easier to get everything in one bite.
Excited to try this one! Has anyone tried to keep this in the fridge to eat over a few meals? I’d like to try it for meal prep.
I think it would keep fine. The zucchini would get softer, but I consider this a not-hot, more room temperature meal. It doesn’t really have to be warmed.
I always seem to have trouble with my pesto turning brown right away. Any thoughts or suggestions?
The parts of the herbs that are at the surface can sometimes turn brown, but nothing underneath. A stir hides everything; it doesn’t affect taste. I suppose you could also press plastic wrap against the surface to prevent browning but you’d lose some when you peeled it off. A little extra oil in it, ensuring that the basil is fully submerged, could help too.
Squeeze a little lemon in it and it will stay bright green.
Interesting — I usually find lemon juice to have the opposite effect, to discolor green vegetables.
Blanching the basil very briefly (a few seconds), then shocking in cold water will prevent the discolouration. It will also reduce the volume of the herb, obviously. (Bulking it up a bit with parsley can help a little.)
This was a hit at our 4th of July cookout. I will be making this all summer long!
I made this tonight and added barley and it was great! Thanks!
Delighted to find a yummy vegetarian recipe that includes beans as a protein! And a pasta-like recipe without the pasta! Thanks, Deb, for your creativity and for always making recipes easier and approachable! I modified the pesto a bit, added roasted unsalted pistachios for a buttery richness. Huge hit at our house and will definitely be part of our summer rotation!
This looks amazing! I plan to make it this weekend. So beautiful. I wish you had a recipe print function on your site.
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template.
This was soooo good! I also grilled some green onions and fennel with the dukes. Made this and your chopped salad with feta lime and mint this week and both were big hits. Thank you!
Made this tonight and it was great! My ribbons didn’t quite stand up, too mushy…maybe too thin?, but they tasted great. My husband, who is hard to please, said this would be a great picnic dish! Definitely a keeper!
I made this tonight for a family dinner for 9, doubling everything. So simple, so delicious – summer on a plate!! Since it was for a crowd, I roasted the squash ribbons in three batches in a 425 oven on parchment paper for about 10 minutes a batch. (Watch carefully – they go from crispy to burnt quickly!) I added a jar of toasted pine nuts on top, and I had to use Goya’s white kidney “cannolini” beans (i.e. not tiny white beans) and it was still amazing. Finally, I added some lemon zest at the end. Thanks for such an recipe that works in a vacation house kitchen!
Grilled zucchini ribbons with pesto and white beans what a great recipe, it took less time, good for health, thanks for the recipe.
I made this last night for a potluck and added vine-ripened tomatoes and toasted sourdough crutons for a Panzanella salad and it was GREAT! So good, in fact, that I’m making it again and tonight and not sharing with anyone!
Perfect salad!
I made this… ish. I had zucchini and basil I needed to use, but also potatoes I needed to use and felt like potatoes and beans would be too starchy. So I made the grilled squash and held the lemon, made the smashed potatoes with lemon and lots of olive oil from Six Seasons, and split the pesto between the grilled zucchini and a thinly sliced flank steak. Summer dinner Bliss was achieved. Thanks for the jumping off point!
Having trouble with the basil measurement here… I’m picking basil from my garden and a bowlful of leaves (which is about what I’d estimate a small clamshell contains) comes to half an ounce. Are we seriously talking 2 ounces? I’m not seeing how a small clamshell and 2oz match up?
Maybe a measurement of cups of leaves or packed cups of leaves would help? Usually I’m a fan of weight measurements, but mine is probably off because I don’t have all the stems (or am I supposed to use the stems too?).
This is a wonderful dish! I roasted the slices at 425 for about 15 minutes. They softened but never colored. I didn’t want to fire up our big grill for these but I’m sure it would be even better grilled. I did fry a few in bacon grease because there was a hot pan in front of me from something else. The whole thing came together beautifully, topped with toasted walnuts. I could see it taking to a bunch of different additions. Thanks, Deb!
Delish! Tasty, fast & fresh.
This was delicious. I made it with a few mods – I don’t have a grill or griddle, so I made zoodles and sauted them briefly in olive oil with red pepper flakes. Also doubled the quantities, so I’d have leftovers for work lunches. Such a quick and easy recipe with great results – this will be happening again.
Made this with half pesto half zhoug sauce (both from TJs)
It’s a win!
made this tonight. quartered and diced my zucchini because i don’t have time for fussy slicing, browned/charred them quickly in a smoking hot cast iron pan instead of grilling, and used premade pesto with vinegar added. maybe a tad sour (too much lemon maybe? or i went too heavy on the vinegar) but all in all a great, cheap, healthy summer meal.
Looks amazing! I needed a recipe for all of my zucchini in the garden. I will be making this many times throughout the summer. Thanks!
I Frankensteined this with the Roasted Carrot Pasta Salad and it was delicious! I used the sunflower seed pesto dressing instead of the basil vinaigrette and have no regrets.
I made this and loved it!! I spiralized the zucchini and squash and grilled them (along with a sliced onion) in a grilling basket! I added fresh cut tomatoes to it the next day (and the next) for lunch leftovers! Can’t wait to make it again!!
This was fantastic. I made it in a grill pan on the stove and it worked very well. I added the vinegar to pesto I had already made. The vegetable and bean combo was light but filling. It was terrific left over. I will make this again and again.
This was excellent. I added some toasted pine nuts and we loved the contrast of textures and flavors. Good thing I had bought a large basil plant the day before I saw this recipe!
Made it! Delicious! I had an onion so I grilled it along with the squash. Added some garden fresh sliced tomatoes to top it off.
I made this tonight with two large-ish (1 1/2 lbs. total) zucchini picked today from the garden. Not having a grill I roasted the zukes in the oven. I used pesto made last week with basil and celery leaves (which I thought were parsley!) frozen and defrosted. I used cannelini beans and toasted some pine nuts which I think really made it even better. I used very little cheese, and we didn’t miss it. The dish was divine. Really delicious. A keeper!
Just got a glut of zucchini to make something with…..and now I have a masterplan. Cheers and best wishes from the English lake district.
So in my fridge I have 1) too much zucchini 2) pesto made a few days ago from too much basil and in the pantry 3) white beans that need using. Thank you! I’m looking forward to trying this :)
I rarely comment, but can’t help it – we made this last night with some Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans and i CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT.
Like others, we also roasted the zucchini (425° for ~ 18 minutes) because no grill and i didn’t have the energy to do it in batches on the grill pan. Used cider vinegar in the pesto because its what we had and forgot the lemon on the zucchini… Even with my missteps, this was STILL one of my favorite meals ever. For anyone on the fence, just make this. You will not regret it!!!
Question: how much olive oil are we talking here? How thick should the consistency of the pesto be? thanks!
Usually 4 to 5 tablespoons, but it doesn’t need to be too thin, just thin enough to dress the vegetables.
Wow, Deb– made this tonight and it was fantastic! Used toasted pine nuts, and added some lemon zest. Thought there would be too much as I made it, but we ate every bit of it, lol.
This was excellent. I added some toasted pine nuts and we loved the contrast of textures and flavors. Good thing I had bought a large basil plant the day before I saw this recipe!
I have now tried a number of zucchini/pasta, zucchini/bean recipes and they all fall flat for me. I’ve decided it is a textural issue unique to me. That said, at least your recipe was a whole lot less complex than Ottolenghi and some others! Until I added some fresh sheep’s milk ricotta, I thought the taste monotonous and the texture unappetizing. I can see how a sausage addition would also have been transformative and may give that a last college try. Fresh pesto is a weekly staple for me in the summer and I remain game to try using it in new ways.
When I told my husband I wanted to make this for dinner he was not thrilled. I decided to make it anyway. His reaction? Wow! I added halved cherry tomatoes because I had them and I thought it was a good addition. We also thought that grilling a red onion together with the zucchini would be a good plus. Definitely will make this again.
My sister is not a fan of white beans so when she saw me making this for dinner, she turned her nose up. Then she saw the pesto and grilled zucchini…it was devoured. I noticed that you have lemon on the ingredient list but didn’t see it in the directions. So I squeezed lemon juice over the plated dish and it was perfect!
Ok, now after reading the recipe for the 5th time, I see lemon juice was supposed to be added to the grilled zucchini. I blame my sleep deprivation!
Novia, I had to read the recipe through a few times to see what to do with the lemon as well!
Those recipes have been a coup for my cooking repertoire!
But in order to cook be sure to get some utensils:
https://kitchenwarez.net/
I am so excited to make this!! I’m in nyc too, without a grill of my own but my generous close friends have one. And as the sole vegetarian at most gatherings i always volunteer to bring/make a veg dish to share with everyone (that is usually my main) this will be so perfect since i can make and bring the pesto! Love the pine nuts idea but i might swap in pumpkin seeds since for some reason i have a lot of them on hand already
This was delicious (and I was very happy to have a pesto recipe without cheese). Perfect for a hot night. For us, 1 whole clove of garlic overwhelmed the pesto (maybe I didn’t use enough basil?); I will use 1/2 a clove next time. Also, I’m lazy so I just diced the zukes and quickly sautéed them which worked well. I added chopped tomatoes from the garden and made croutons; both were a nice addition. This recipe seems very forgiving; add what you have and it’ll be delicious.
This was SO GOOD. My only change was to add pine nuts and leave out the parmesan. I don’t have a mandoline so I just trimmed it with a knife and it was fine. Will definitely make again, next time want to try it with mozzarella.
Delicious!! I used Trader Joe’s kale and cashew pesto and panfried the pesto and it was still amazing. Threw some pistachios on top for crunch.
Thanks for a new spin on zucchini. I prepped the zucchini and pesto the night before and quickly assembled everything right before a big family dinner. I mixed some lemon zest into the beans as well. It was a big hit — our 2 and 4 year old grand kids liked it, too!
Just made this for my mother’s birthday to accompany grilled chicken sausage, your delicious tomato bread (grilled, on ciabatta from Zingerman’s), and sangria. What a beautiful dish. I served it at room-temp, although next time I might try to serve it at least warm (there will definitely be a next time). Thank you so much!
Perfection! Just made this for a second time and added fresh spinach, pine nuts, and grilled chicken and it made the best summer salad ever. Never was there a happier book club, thanks for all the terrific summer recipes!
This is my first comment ever! I really wanted to tell you that my husband and I loved this recipe as-is…But it’s ALSO amazing as a dip! I decided to take an immersion blender to a portion of it so our 8 month old could eat some too. He gobbled it up as well but couldn’t finish it all (so of course I ate his leftover mash). Guess what – it’s delicious! Next time I’m going to do half as-is/half dip and serve with pita chips. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this last night and it was great! I’m growing yellow squash so I used 3 of those (relatively small ones). After grilling I cut them smaller so it was easier to serve and eat. I also accidently forgot the parmesan cheese in the rush to get things onto the table, and it was still quite tasty. I’ll definitely be making this again as my squash plants continue to produce abundantly.
Just made this as a side to go along with grilled chicken thighs w/ dark mustard/apple cider vinegar marinade, and it was the most popular item on everyone’s plates. Plus, the pesto is the PERFECT thing to allow a small child to help – “here, put all of these things in that thing, and then press the button until it’s more liquid-y.”
I don’t have a mandolin, nor the patience to cut ribbons, so I just cut disks and grilled them in our grill basket. Worked really well, and was arguably easier to dish out onto everyone’s plates.
Never would have tried this combo without seeing this post, and this will for sure be a summer staple from here out!
Made this last night and it was so. good. Way better than the sum of it’s parts! The only thing I did differently was also grilling sliced eggplant and adding it in (because I’m having a moment with eggplant rn). Perfect, easy, delicious summer meal!
If I don’t have a grill or grill pan, how would I go about roasting the zucchini? I really don’t want to pass up this recipe! Thanks!
Maybe 425 for 10 minutes? Or until browned on each side? Be sure to oil the pan well; zucchini really likes to stick.
Great! Looking forward to trying this recipe this week! Thanks!
This was so good!! I love the vinegar in the pesto and the fact that it does not have a lot of cheese. I added some ground hot Italian sausage to the white beans and it was wonderful. I want to make it again already!
Just made this as a vegetarian summer alternative to pasta salad, and it was delicious! My husband said, “I want to lick the platter!” We already love you for your “I want chocolate cake cake” but this is a whole new frontier!
Amazingly good. No grill so I roasted/broiled the zucchini. I’ve made it twice now. The first time o thought 1/4” seemed too thick and set my mandolin for closer to 1/8”. Turned out that was too thin and the zucchini stuck to the tin foil (still delicious, just more labor intensive). The second time I went with 1/4” and used parchment paper, which was perfect. I have also used pre-made pesto to make this even quicker. A dish that’s more than the sum of its parts. Soooo good.
I’m trying this today with grilled shrimp thrown in and maybe a little bit of summer corn to make a complete meal.
I made this for dinner last night. Had one of my husband’s colleagues over for dinner, she does not eat red meat, and we had squash from the garden that needed to find a purpose, so it fit the bill. Insanely good is the only descriptor I can find. We were fighting each other for seconds, even my 9 year old twins!!!
An absolute keeper.
Do you think a different cheese could be substituted? I am vegetarian, but parmesan contains rennet.
I’m not sure which cheeses are vegetarian and which are not (I mean, without googling) but yes, you can absolutely use another cheese you like here, it’s flexible.
I see this post was from July, but if you haven’t already purchased one, I love my small hand held mandolin from OXO. It fits nicely in my utensil drawer, is very very sharp a year later and is perfect for two of us especially for salads. It my new favorite kitchen utensil.
I made this as written and omg (maybe a little lighter on the vinegar next time). Delicious. I think that canned beans do not do this dish justice so tonight I have a pot of soldier beans simmering on the stove. I can hardly wait for this to come together!
We loved this! Even better than you advertised – and that sounded pretty amazing. Thanks again.
Delicious! On the second night I added a chopped and browned Applegate chicken with apple sausage for variety. Was great that way too and will definitely make this dish again.
Had this for dinner tonight and mashed up some of the beans for our 9 month old and served with the zucchini. This is by far the quickest I’ve ever seen her devour anything (adults also were happy)! Also, don’t have a grill so just roasted in the oven and it was great!
Working on this right now, but didn’t see any ingredients for a dressing.
It’s all in there — the pesto, the vinegar, the oil.
Didn’t get around to making this until today but that’s fine because it’s 85 degrees in Chicago. Super summery and tasty! Used my big grill pan inside and I had to work in batches but it turned out great.
I have homemade pesto in the freezer (from summer basil harvest), could I just add vinegar to this to achieve the dressing? Would more olive oil be necessary for consistency? It looks and sounds lovely. Thank you.
It’s hards to say because I don’t know how much basil or oil or parmesan you put it, but for these purposes, you’ll be fine. Add vinegar or oil to taste, to stretch it into a loose vinaigrette you want to eat and it will taste good here.
Thank you!
I made this tonight and added roasted tomatoes and sourdough croutons after reading those great suggestions in the comments. I think those two additions (especially the roasted tomatoes, yummmmm) really made it. I don’t currently have a mandolin so I had a little trouble getting the zucchini to cook evenly (in the oven) but it worked well enough. I think next time I will cut them differently.
I am a recent vegetarian and trying to start loving beans, which I currently don’t…but I’m obsessed with pesto so this was a good gateway recipe :) thanks!!
PS It’s even better the second day, heated in the microwave for a minute, then parmesan and croutons stirred in.
Oh and I just remembered I have a question as well. I liked this warm (well the veggies were warm anyway) but does anyone have suggestions for warming the beans? Can I just zap them in the microwave? Or on the stove? Do I heat them in their canned liquid, and then can I rinse them after?
Re your outgoing mandoline and your incoming mandoline… you may have figured this out by now, but you are mixing apples and oranges. That brand sells several versions:
– Classic/Original, which is narrow, with 1 straight blade + 3 interchangeable blades; – I think you had this in green
– Super, which is wider at 13cm, with 1 straight blade + 3 interchangeable blades; for some reason, I found this cheaper in almond than in white….
– Jumbo which is even wider at almost 5″, but only comes with 1 straight blade (ie, cannot julienne)
Your links indicated that you were planning to REPLACE your original with the Jumbo, but, as the Jumbo doesn’t have the interchangeable blades, you may be sad.
Good to know — thank you — although I don’t see all of these options on Amazon right now, at least. 13cm = 5.1 inches, maybe they’re the same under different names?
Fantastic. Used already on hand kale pesto and burrata. Perfect summer meal.
I made this the way the recipe said and it was delicious. The second time I made this recipe I modified the recipe by spiralizing the zucchini and not grilling the zucchini and it was equally delicious.
This right here gets the total “Win” for our fav meal from the annual zucchini harvest season. Was a bit generous with the pesto. Thanks as always for the delicious inspiration.
This was insanely delicious. I roasted the zucchini in a toaster oven I keep outside to avoid heating up the kitchen in the summer misery. Added some little chunks of mozzarella to clean out the cheese drawer. Was too lazy to pick up my food processor so just chopped and massaged the basil. It was great and even the meat-o-philes were satisfied with this as a main course.
Glut of zucchini in the garden. Already made pickles and dehydrated a bunch. Sauteed with garlic, did all the usual. Desperate. *THIS RECIPE!*
I might make it every night.
Loved this. Thanks for the help in using up the massive zucchini harvest.
Even with jarred pesto spiked with garlic and vinegar, this was shockingly good. Very flavourful and fresh, yet substantial. So much more than the sum of its parts! With some grilled cheese, this is a main I would be happy to share with people I like all summer long. Oh, it also took less than 15 minutes to make – and shamefully few minutes to eat!
Just had this for dinner over pasta, what a delicious meal! (Okay, in full disclosure I cheated and used a ready-made pesto, but the combination of flavours was very excellent)
I made this today. It was colorful and beautiful. I used my cast iron grill pan.
I regret not following the suggestions in the instructions … “Drizzle the remaining dressing over the platter, to taste.” Emphasize the “to taste”. Instead I just dumped it all on, and it was way too much. I think the recommendation of toasted pine nuts would have helped.
@Maura
I decided to buy a LC grill pan. We live in Phoenix and can grill outdoors all year long. However, this year, we’ve had really hot days (over 110+, lows of 95).
Thanks for the suggestion.
Delicious! Made with modifications based on what we already had – chermoula instead of pesto, chickpeas instead of white beans, no lemon to be found. Served with grilled bread. Definitely will be repeated.
I am totally in love with this recipe! I have just gotten a gorgeous marble mortar and pestle from Italy, and yesterday I made the little white beans from scratch, ground the mixture in the pestle, and used zucchini from our farm share. HEAVEN. I wish I could post the picture of the gorgeous results!
Deb, This was so so delish! I made it last night. I was lucky – my son made pesto and gave me some so I got to skip that prep but the combination was truly wonderful! Will make again SOON! Thanks!
I made this tonight and loved every bit. I served it with marinated mozzarella balls, Trader Joe’s romesco and sliced toasted baguette. Perfect summer dinner!
This recipe is deceitfully simple and incredibly delicious. I used Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans, a medium sized creamy bean. If I have time, I like to make fresh beans as they seem to make a difference. One other modification, I replaced 1/2 of the basil with Italian parsley, it seems to give the pesto a smoother flavor. The combination was A+. Thanks Deb for another winner!
Very yummy.. can’t wait to try it!
My god this is good. The addition of white wine vinegar and lemon make this dish super zippy and extra delicious, especially on a hot day. I didn’t have time to fire up the grill but broiling did the trick. Putting this at the top of my rotation!
How much can I do the day ahead?
Thank you
This is fine from the fridge or at room temperature, but the texture is most interesting when the zucchini ribbons are freshly grilled and the beans and pesto are cold.
Made this last night, with the abundant zucchini and basil in my garden, and we loved it! I followed the recipe exactly, even twirling the zucchini ribbons through the beans (I used canned cannellini). Oh, I did add capers. The vinegar adds a nice punch to the dressing, and the dish was even good leftover for lunch today. My husband is a serious bean lover, and this will be in regular rotation at our house.
A delicious summer side dish! Comes together quickly while the rest of dinner is cooking on the grill. I ran out of basil so I subbed in some parsley. Also had no white wine vinegar so I used red wine vinegar instead. Served with grilled sausage and peppers with crusty bread. Yum!
Every summer I come back to this. Thank goodness you call attention to it, or I might forget one year! It’s so good that I start making variations (eggplant for zucchini, or mixed with it, e.g.) and need to buy more beans every week!
Made this today for dinner.
We cracked open a huge ball of Burrata and toasted home made bread-Yummy!
My husband said the dish was a world class.
Thank you Deb for amazing recipes.
This is the only thing that I have ever made (in 28 years) that my husband said after his first bite, “you have got to put this on regular rotation”. I loved the ease of this dish and the various options you can do. For instance, I did not do ribbons, but half moon’d the zucchini, eyeballed the oil and grilled them. Also, did not have 2 oz of basil from my garden, so I cut the dressing down a bit. Will make this again and again. I paired this with some grilled chicken sausages. Next, I’ll serve it to my guests this weekend with Beer Can Chicken. Thank you!
Delish! I don’t have a grill so I broiled the zucchini strips. I brushed it with some lemon infused olive oil that my friend brought me from Italy. Wish I had some pine nuts to add – next time. Great summer flavors! Thanks so much for the recipe.
This is just a perfect side dish. It should be made at every barbecue, with every kind of protein. It is just excellent, easy, and hits the spot in every way. A keeper for sure!
Made this and added the buratta and some grilled homemade sourdough (hubby became one of those pandemic sourdough bread makers). Heaven!
Do you have a recipe for pesto vinaigrette or do you just make a basic vinaigrette and stir basil pesto in to taste?
Made this tonight (minus the cheese & oil) for dinner for my whole food, plant based husband; we loved it, thank you!
Sounds so good! But am I missing what to do with the lemon?
Our pattypan squash is taking over the garden — pretty soon, it will become the squash that ate Pittsburgh (okay a private joke with a friend, but really we have a LOT). I also have a lot of basil growing, so I’m going to try this. Thanks!
This was a really good summer side dish. I served it with parm. chicken breast. I actually cheated and used store bought fresh pesto. It was still really good.
Deb, I love your recipes because they can be 1) a step by step guide that’s lovely as followed, or 2) a jumping off point to give you ideas for how to use what you have. This recipe was truly greater than the sum of its parts. For maximum Tuesday night effectiveness, I used leftover pesto that was languishing in the fridge and cut the zucchini into very thin coins in the food processor before broiling them in the oven. Threw in some arugala and didn’t use very much cheese. Simply divine.
Help! I have read this recipe multiple times and I don’t see where you use the jar of pesto? Thank you!
You make your own pesto here, but you could swap storebought if you wish. You’ll want to add the vinegar.
Made and ate last night. Pretty good! We had it with brown rice, but I bet Farro would be even better!!
I did what Deb does and tweaked this a bit. I had home-cooked cannellini beans and pesto in the freezer so this was perfect. Here’s what I did:
1- sauteed kale on the bottom of the serving bowl
2- beans in pesto vinaigrette on top
3- I’m too clumsy to risk using a mandoline, so I used a cheese slicer to shave zucchini. That worked okay. I rolled them when cooked, but truthfully I think I would just cut small pieces of zucchini because you couldn’t really see the rolls in the beans.
4- I happened to have halloumi cheese, so I cut it in small squares, browned them under the broiler, and put them over the beans. THAT was a winner. I didn’t use parmesan except a little in the pesto.
We loved it. The kale and halloumi really were great.
Do you have the nutrition facts on this recipe? I made it it was absolutely delicious, but I would like to know as I am on a program where I need the nutrition information. Thank you.