There are a lot of great flavors playing off each other in this Sicilian dish, but the final result really depends on the quality of the ricotta. Yes, you can use supermarket ricotta and it will still be good, but if you can get real fresh ricotta, it will be unbelievable.

Serves 6

4 medium zucchini, preferably 2 yellow and 2 green
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon black olive paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
A small chunk of bottarga for grating
16 fresh mint leaves
2 serrano chilies, sliced into paper-thin rounds

Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.

Using a mandoline or other vegetable slicer, slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

In a shallow bowl, whisk the vinegar, olive paste, oregano, celery seeds, pepper flakes, and ½ cup of the olive oil together to form a loose (broken) vinaigrette. Dip each zucchini slice in the vinaigrette, drain off the excess, and place on a large baking sheet.

Working in batches, place the zucchini on the grill and cook, turning once, just until it is slightly softened and pale grill marks appear, about 1 minute on each side, then return to the baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine the ricotta with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil, mixing well. Stir in the black pepper.

Shingle the zucchini slices, alternating yellow and green, on a large platter. Pour all of the remaining vinaigrette over. Spoon the ricotta mixture in a line down the center and grate a lot of bottarga over the whole thing. Tear the mint leaves and scatter them haphazardly over the zucchini, then scatter the chiles over. Serve at once, or within an hour.

Copyright © 2008 by Mario Batali. All rights reserved.