Summer Vegetable Medley

Our Summer Vegetable Medley has thinly sliced fresh vegetables sauteed in butter until perfectly tender and tossed together for serving. This simple side dish is perfect for any summertime meal!

Delicious, fresh summer flavors

Once you try this easy summer vegetable medley – you’ll be making this simple side dish all summer long! It’s a delicious way to eat vegetables from the farm stand or your backyard garden, and you can vary the vegetables to suit your tastes and produce availability.

What does it mean when vegetables are julienned?

In this recipe, the fresh zucchini, yellow summer squash, red onion, carrots, and red bell pepper are all cut using the julienne technique. This is a French cooking term that means to cut into long, thin, uniform strips – about the size of matchsticks.

The julienned vegetables are simply sauteed in butter, lightly seasoned with salt, and tossed to combine before serving.  The fresh flavors of each vegetable really shines through, and this dish is the perfect complement to grilled steaks or chicken, or seafood.

• Even the pickiest vegetable eater will love this simple, buttery dish.
• You can prep the vegetables ahead of time, then cook them up as the rest of your dinner cooks.
• You can vary the vegetables based on what’s in season at the market.

• Zucchini – Choose the smaller, tender zucchini for this recipe. Leaving the skin on adds color to the dish, and it also prevents the zucchini from getting mushy as it cooks.
• Yellow Summer Squash – Similar to the zucchini, choose smaller yellow squash for this recipe.
• Red Onion – The sweet, milder flavor of the red onion works best in this recipe, plus it lends little pops of purple to this colorful side dish.
• Carrots – You’ll want to buy the full-size carrots to make this recipe, not the baby carrots.
• Red Bell Pepper – Any color of bell pepper can be used in this recipe, but we liked the sweet flavor and the contrasting color of the red peppers.
• Butter – You can use unsalted or salted butter for this recipe.
• Salt – This is added at the end of the cooking process, as needed. If you’ve used salted butter, you may not need to season the cooked vegetables any further.

• This recipe would be delicious with other vegetables such as thinly sliced asparagus, or chopped broccoli added. 
• We think some fresh herbs – such as basil, tarragon, or thyme – would also taste great in this dish. Add them at the end, when you combine all of the cooked vegetables together.

1. Cut each vegetable into matchstick-sized strips – keeping them separated in bowls or in piles on a large platter.
2. Sauté each vegetable by itself in butter – until just tender – then pouring out the cooked vegetables onto a platter or sheet tray to cool while you cook the remaining vegetables.
3. Pour the cooked vegetables back into the sauté pan and toss to evenly combine.
4. Season with salt as needed, then serve immediately.

• Can I make Summer Vegetable Medley ahead of time?  Yes, all of the vegetables can be prepped and refrigerated and cooked when ready. Or partially precook, then reheat in butter and cook until tender before serving.
• How do I store leftovers?  Store covered in the refrigerator for up to four days.
• How do I reheat leftovers? We recommend that you always reheat this vegetable medley in a sauté pan with butter. Just be sure to avoid overheating – you don’t want the vegetables to get mushy.
• Can I freeze this vegetable medley?  You can by freezing the cooked medley of vegetables flat, in a zipper seal bag with all air squeezed out. (Freeze with the melted butter to protect the vegetables from getting freezer burn over time.) If you know ahead of time that you plan to freeze this recipe, undercook the vegetables slightly so that they don’t get mushy when thawed and reheated.

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