Bon Appetit's Zucchini Carpaccio

I decided to make a vegetable side dish to bring to my brother's house for Easter dinner.  I came across this dish in the April 2010 issue of Bon Appetit (Click here to view the full recipe) and was easily sold on it because it's one of those rare dishes that looks impressive but isn't much work.  In fact there is absolutely no cooking involved, a perfect dish to put together on a hot day.

Of course having a mandolin v-slicer makes the prep much more fun, especially if you remember to use the finger guard!   While my dish didn't come out looking exactly like the Bon Appetit version (mine is 2nd one below) I was still pleased with the way it came out and it tasted delicious - the fresh, slightly crunchy vegetables and creamy ricotta were a great match.

Notes- I cheated a bit by not making my own ricotta cheese, but found a lovely substitute in local Narragansett Creamery Ricotta from Sherman Market in Somerville, MA.  More on that later. Also, keep in mind that unless you are using a platter the size of a picnic table, you will end up with many overlapping layers of zucchini - mine had four or five.  I simply stopped halfway through to add some salt, pepper, onions and ricotta cheese before finishing with the remaining zucchini to make sure it was seasoned all the way through.