Grilled Zucchini Salad, plus Melon and Prosciutto

A simple Grilled Zucchini Salad made with juicy melon, prosciutto and toasted pine nuts. With a zingy vinaigrette dressing this salad is so refreshing and light and couldn't be easier to put together!

This zucchini salad is one of our favourite things to eat in the Summer, it's simple and takes no more than 10 minutes to put together PLUS it's packed full of good flavours.

Melon and prosciutto is such a classic combo, salty prosciutto with fresh and juicy melon you can't go wrong and it goes perfectly with the charred zucchini. There's also toasted pine nuts, fresh mint and basil and a good zingy vinaigrette We mean YUM!

There's an abundance of zucchini in the summer so this is the solid way to use them up. You can also use them to make our Zucchini Ribbon Salad or Fennel Courgette Salad with Smoked Scamorza & Chilli which are both incredibly simple and easy to make.

Do we need to salt the zucchini first?

You'll be happy to hear that the answer is no! There's no need to salt the zucchini first, go straight ahead and grill them.

You can even grill the zucchini in advance and store them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the salad.

How to Make Grilled Zucchini Salad, plus Melon and Prosciutto

Slice the zucchini thinly lengthways and drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a hot griddle pan or grill until soft and charred on both sides and let cool (photo 1 & 2).

Put all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a bowl and whisk until combined and set aside. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan or skillet until toasted on all sides, be careful as they burn easily then set aside (photos 3 & 4).

Assemble the zucchini salad by laying out a few slices of zucchini on each plate followed by prosciutto and then melon. Sprinkle some pine nuts over the top then scatter over finely chopped fresh mint and basil.

Add some black pepper and drizzle over the vinaigrette dressing then serve!

Serving Suggestions

We serve this zucchini salad as it is for a light lunch or dinner but if you want to serve it as a side it would be great with grilled meats such as chicken or fish. We recommend not adding the melon if serving it as a side but that's our preference.

Recipe Tips

• You can prep the zucchini in advance by grilling it and storing it in the fridge until you are ready to eat.
• You can also prep the vinaigrette so when you are ready to serve all you need to do is assemble the salad.
• Try and cut the zucchini (courgettes) thinly around 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm so they cook quicker.
• You can use an indoor griddle pan or grill them outside on the BBQ to grill the zucchini.
• You can also roast the zucchini in the oven for around 8-10 minutes until soft.
• There's no need to salt the zucchini before making this salad.
• You don't need to use a melon baller to cut the melon you can cut it into small chunks.

More good salads you might like

• Italian Farro Salad
• Tuna Panzanella – Italian Bread Salad
• Classic Caprese Salad – Easy, Fresh & good
• Fennel Courgette Salad with Smoked Scamorza & Chilli
• Loaded Lentil Salad With Eggplant And Burrata
• Melon Gazpacho Soup With Crispy Prosciutto

Ingredients

Makes 4 people

• 1 small cantaloupe melon (, scooped with melon baller or cut into medium-sized chunks)
• 7 oz Prosciutto ((200g))
• 2 zucchini (, thinly sliced lengthways)
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 small handful basil (, finely chopped)
• 1 small handful mint (, finely chopped)
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil

For the vinaigrette

• 3 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 squeeze lemon
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper (to season)

Method

1. Heat a griddle pan on a medium to high heat. Drizzle the sliced zucchini with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper then grill for 1-2 minutes on each side until cooked through and nice and charred. Set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

2. In a small dry pan toast the pine nuts for around 30 seconds until browned and set aside. To make the dressing put all the ingredients in a bowl with a little salt and pepper and whisk until combined. Taste and add more honey if desired and set aside.

3. On serving plates place a few slices of zucchini followed by strips of prosciutto and melon. Sprinkle over some toasted pine nuts and fresh chopped basil and mint. Drizzle with the dressing and add a sprinkle of pepper then serve.

Kitchen notes

• You can prep the zucchini in advance by grilling it and storing it in the fridge until you are ready to eat.
• You can also prep the vinaigrette so when you are ready to serve all you need to do is assemble the salad.
• Try and cut the zucchini (courgettes) thinly around 1/4 inch or 1/2 cm so they cook quicker.
• You can use an indoor griddle pan or grill them outside on the BBQ to grill the zucchini.
• You can also roast the zucchini in the oven for around 8-10 minutes until soft.
• There's no need to salt the zucchini before making this salad.
• You don't need to use a melon baller to cut the melon you can cut it into small chunks.