Summer Squash and Zucchini Salad

Fourth of July, year twelve. Two bakeries celebrating the Fourth. Elotes at the El Paso bakery (the tradition) and elotes at the Anapra bakery (Lupita serving them for the first time — grilled corn with mayo and cotija and chile, the recipe traveling across the bridge the way all our recipes travel: completely, faithfully, tasting like home on both sides). Camila sang the national anthem at the El Paso celebration — full voice, in key (finally, completely in key, after years of enthusiastic approximation). Diego flew the drone. Luis grilled. Sofia managed everything. Isabella held baby Alejandro. Luis Jr. watched fireworks with the quiet of a veteran. Andrea held Luis Jr.'s hand. Concha the dog hid under the lawn chair. The usual. The tradition. The law.

Sofia turns nineteen on July 2. Nineteen — a full year as partner, a full year on the license, a full year of the clipboard and the spreadsheet and the dual-bakery management that is her life's work at nineteen. Her birthday gift: a laptop. A professional laptop for business management, with accounting software and a project management tool and the digital infrastructure that Sofia has been building on her phone and that now graduates to a computer because a dual-bakery empire requires a screen larger than five inches. She opened the laptop and her face did the still-thing, and then she said: "This changes everything." I said: "The laptop?" She said: "The processing speed." She is nineteen. Her birthday emotion is processing speed. I love her.

Diego turns seventeen on July 15. He is spending the summer at UTEP's pre-engineering program (the scholarship from the professor, extended for a second year) and his birthday was celebrated at the program — the engineering students baked him a cake, which Diego analyzed for "structural consistency of the frosting layer" and which the other students found hilarious and which Diego found "informative." He is seventeen and he analyzes birthday cake frosting the way other people taste it. Happy birthday, Diego.

I made elotes at both bakeries — the recipe duplicated across the bridge, the Fourth of July in stereo, the corn and the cheese and the chile on both sides of the river, and the both-sides is the America I celebrate: not one country but the space between two, not one flag but the bridge that connects them, not one anthem but the anthem and the "De Colores," and both are patriotic, and both are mine.

The elotes were the centerpiece — they always are — but a celebration that spans two bakeries and two countries needs more than one dish to carry it. This summer squash and zucchini salad is what I make when the table is full and the day is long and I need something bright and simple that can travel: to the El Paso side, to the Anapra side, to wherever the family lands. It’s the kind of recipe that asks almost nothing of you and gives back color and freshness and the particular satisfaction of a dish that looks like summer feels — which is exactly what July 4, year twelve, deserved.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds or half-moons
2 medium yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/3 cup crumbled feta or cotija cheese

Instructions

Slice the vegetables. Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the zucchini and yellow squash into thin rounds or half-moons, about 1/8-inch thick. Place in a large mixing bowl.
Add aromatics and tomatoes. Add the thinly sliced red onion and halved cherry tomatoes to the bowl with the squash. Toss gently to combine.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Dress the salad. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss gently until everything is evenly coated. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes to allow the squash to absorb the flavors and soften slightly.
Finish and serve. Just before serving, fold in the torn basil and chopped parsley. Transfer to a serving platter or bowl and top with crumbled feta or cotija. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.

Nutrition (per serving)

Summer Squash and Zucchini Salad — The Side That Traveled Both Sides of the Bridge