The idea of this salad is to marinate the courgette – in fact, I think this is one of the best ways of eating courgette as I often find when I cook it it goes limp and soggy.
You can experiment with using different kinds of cheese. Instead of the parmesan you could try Ossau Iraty, or, here in Sardinia an enthusiastic lady serving at my local deli counter recommended a matured Ovicaprino Juncu – a wonderful combination of sheep and goat milk cheese made as a sort of pecorino. It’s quite strong but the lemon in the dressing tames it into an interesting submission.
This goes very well as a lunch with salami and warm focaccia…. Or alternatively serve it with white fish fillets and fried potatoes.
Lemony courgette carpaccio
Serves – 2
Ingredients
- 1 courgette (about 350g/12 oz)
- ½ tsp honey – more if your lemon is very juicy
- ½ lemon, juice and zest
- 50g/2 oz/a generous ½ cup of shaved parmesan or pecorino
- 4 tbsps/¼ cup olive oil
- Salt
- Pinch Urfa pepper flakes, or some freshly ground black pepper
- A handful of rocket or shredded watercress
Instructions
- Zest the lemon and put the zest to one side.
- In a salad bowl mix the oil, lemon juice, salt, honey and pepper flakes or pepper. Whisk to mix (I use a cappuccino whisk).
- Slice the courgette relatively thinly – on the diagonal if you are feeling posh. Put in with the dressing and mix well. Leave to marinate for five minutes to an hour.
- Just before you want to eat, mix in the rocket. Top with the parmesan shavings and the lemon zest, and serve.
