Yellow and Green Courgettes with Feta, Mint and Almonds

-
I learned this late, but as they say: better late then never. Courgette (zucchini) isn’t just a wonderful vegetable to oven-bake, but it’s also really good raw and makes for lovely salads. Especially when you use a vegetable peeler to slice it into thin, elegant ribbons - much as I’d once learned to do with carrots and cucumber. This courgette salad is fresh, light and colourful: perfect for spring.

Yellow and Green Courgettes with Feta, Mint and Almonds

Ingredients (serves 2):
1 medium size yellow courgette (zucchini) and 1 medium green courgette
Juice and grated zest of one lemon (it’s easiest if you grate the zest first, then juice it)
15g shaved almonds, toasted lightly
140g feta cheese
handful of mint leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and freshly ground mixed pepper (pink, green and black kernels)

1. Cut the top and bottom off the courgettes, then use a vegetable peeler to slice them lengthwise into long ribbons.

2. In a large bowl, mix the lemon juice and olive oil, then season with salt. Toss in the courgette ribbons to coat them properly, then set aside.

3. In a small skillet, lightly toast the shaved almonds.

4. Chop up the feta into small squares and roughly shred the mint leaves by hand.

5. Toss the feta, mint, shaved almonds and lemon rind into the courgette, season with the mixed pepper, then plate and serve.

Yellow and Green Courgettes with Feta, Mint and Almonds

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bok Choy Noodle Soup with Quail Eggs

-
Image
The day I made this soup is the day I learned to recognise the flavour of star anise in food. I’d known it in licorice, but had never realised what it did to hearty dishes. Star anise, I learned, is one of the five ingredients in Chinese five spice powder - (along with cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel) - the Chinese have been using it for ages. And I never would have guessed it, but it does something quite amazing.  Ingredients (serves 2): 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large shallots, minced 1 bunch scallions, chopped. Set the green aside for the topping.  4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 2 whole star anise 1300 ml chicken broth 2 tablespoon soy sauce 240g mushrooms, sliced 1/2 head of large bok choy, roughly chopped 120g rice noodles 4-6 quail eggs (or 2 regular eggs), medium-soft boiled garnish: red pepper flakes or sesame seeds Instructions: 1. Take the olive oil and heat in a medium sized soup pan, then add the shallots and cook for 3-4 minutes
Click to read the rest of this post »

Salmon, Avocado and Arugula (Rocket) Salad

-
Image
I’ve been doing a lot of smoked salmon dishes lately. They’re all slightly different, but one thing many of them have in common is the avocado-salmon pairing, which is just lovely. Here’s yet another take on it, in a simple fuss-free salad with this lovely recipe by Melanie of the Fuss Free Cooking blog. Ingredients (serves 2): 60g arugula (rocket) lettuce 100g smoked salmon, torn into pieces 1 avocado, sliced 1/2 large cucumber, sliced into half moons 2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted 1 lime, juiced 4 tablespoons olive oil optional: drop of sesame seed oil Instructions: 1. In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil and 1/2 of the sesame seeds. 2. Toss the arugula, avocado and cucumber in a bowl and top with the smoked salmon. Drizzle over the dressing. 3. Top with the remaining half of the sesame seeds and serve.
Click to read the rest of this post »

Chocolate Energy Breakfast Bars

-
Image
I usually have yoghurt and cereal for breakfast on weekdays, normally with some raspberries, strawberries or blueberries thrown in. Or, if I'm fresh out of fruit, a teaspoon of jam to make it all sweeter. Maybe a boiled egg on the side. Lately though, I've been finding myself, more and more often, all out of time. So I thought I’d try something I could make ahead. The answer that came to me: energy bars. Except, unlike the store bought kind, you can make these to have exactly what you want in them, and leave out what you don't. And it turns out - making your own energy bars is easy, I don't know why I’d never done it before. Doing it at night and letting them set in the fridge shaves making breakfast right off my morning routine those extra early days :) This is one of those recipes that doesn’t require exact quantities. You can put in whatever you like - dried apricots or figs, any variety of nut, nougat, cereal, etc. Remember, they're going to be your e
Click to read the rest of this post »