Cauliflower Squash and Fresh Pea Salad

This is a dish celebrating the fantastic deep yellow squash of summer.  Cool, colorful, crispy.  Happy summer.
2 yellow squash, sliced (I crinkle cut them)
1 Tbsp kosher salt
4 cups cauliflower floweretts
2 cups fresh peas
2 Tbsp fresh dill weed, minced
2 green onions, sliced

Dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

Toss the squash with the kosher salt and allow to macerate for about 30 minutes in a colander. Toss every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile bring 6 cups water to a boil in a medium pot. Add a tablespoon kosher salt and then the cauliflower and peas. Bring back to a gentle boil and cook for only about another minute. The idea is to cook the veggies only to crisp tender. Drain the veggies when cooked and rinse immediately with cold water to stop the cooking.

Tip the veggies into a sale spinner and spin to dry.

Rinse the squash briefly, to remove the salt - taste to see if you rinsed sufficiently so that the squash are only nicely seasoned with salt. Turn squash out to a long sheet of paper towels. Pat the squash dry.

Mix the squash, cauliflower and peas in a large mixing bowl. Add the dill and green onions.

Whisk together the dressing and add to the salad. Mix well and tip into a serving bowl.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Cook's Note:  Here in the US Mid Atlantic, we get the most fantastic fresh yellow squash in summer - I'm sure other regions do too.  But my colleagues bring in the excesses of their gardens and I am in awe.  What we get year round in the grocers pales in comparison to what we get fresh in the summer.  This is what the squash I am talking about looks like.

While summer fresh peas are sweet and tender, refreshed, thawed frozen petite peas work well here as well.  The real actors are squash - and if you can get fresh cauliflower from a friend or local farm - grab it!  It's much harder to find.