We discovered this recipe in chef Kurt Gutenbrunner’s Austrian cookbook Neue Cuisine. Chef Gutenbrunner owns several restaurants in New York, including Wallse, Cafe Sabarsky, and the now-closed, unfortunately, Blaue Gans. We are fans of both Chef Gutenbrunner’s cooking, as well as Austrian cuisine in general, so we’ve had fun exploring his cookbook. This was the first recipe we tried, and we thought it a nice, refreshing side dish, especially for a summer meal.

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini

2 teaspoons sugar

4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Olive oil

Lime juice

Edible flowers

First, slice the zucchini in long, thin strips (the cookbook recommends using a mandoline, but we were able to achieve the same result using a cheese slicer). Place in a bowl and mix with the sugar and salt. Then, add olive oil to coat the zucchini according to taste, along with the juice from half a lime and the pepper. We garnished the zucchini salad with edible flowers for a pop of color and elegance.