Slicing courgettes up really thinly makes them very posh. In fact, you can turn this rather ordinary green vegetable from the garden into the kind of fare you get in white table-clothed restaurants on the Continent.
The courgette (also known as zucchini) is from the same family as cucumber, squash and melon. Zucchini vegetable comes from the Italian word zucchino, which literally means a tiny squash or undeveloped marrow. The English refer to larger specimens of courgettes as “marrows” or vegetable marrows. ... so, all Zucchini are squash but not all squash are zucchinis. I have no idea why a tiny marrow is called Courgette in French, and not Le Petit Squash.
You need to sauté or roast courgettes, and don’t boil them – or serve them raw, like in this a Carpaccio of Courgette salad.
Ingredients:
675g/1.5 lb courgettes, ideally a mix of yellow and green if available
For the dressing:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of walnut oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 generous teaspoon wholegrain mustard
Juice of a lemon, freshly squeezed
2 dill pickles, chopped (e.g. Waitrose gherkins pickled & dill flower)
Handful pine nuts lightly toasted
1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Optional extra: avocado or sun-dried tomatoes
To garnish: some courgette flowers if you have them or a tablespoon of fresh parsley leaves
Instructions:
Slice the courgettes really thinly, and place in a serving bowl.
Mix all the dressing ingredient together in a screw top jar and shake well. Pour over the courgettes and toss gently but thoroughly. Top with sun dried tomatoes or avocado if using. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours. Top with pine nuts just before serving.
Garnish with the flowers or the parsley leaves.
Recipe adapted from: Leith’s Vegetarian Bible
Comments