If you haven’t seen it all over your Instagram feed – it’s courgette season! Kitty Coles shares a recipe for the most delicious lemon, garlic and chilli braised courgettes and shares four different ways to eat them…
LEMON, GARLIC AND CHILLI BRAISED COURGETTES – 4 WAYS
I love to braise courgettes like this – it’s so simple and is great when courgettes are in abundance during summer. I’ve got 4 ways for you to use these. 1. Serve with yogurt/ labneh/ burrata /mozzarella or ricotta with a pile of toasted sourdough. Great for a light lunch or even as a starter. If you like anchovies, I’d recommend draping them on top or adding them to the pan to cook with them. 2. Serve on pasta with plenty of Parmesan, a handful of chopped parsley, extra black pepper topped then with crispy breadcrumbs. A favourite of mine. 3. With a drained jar or tin of beans such as chickpeas, butter beans, cannellini beans or even tinned lentils are great, again with lots of grated Parmesan and parsley. 4. Serve simply as a side. @kittycoles
For 4
Ingredients
6 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
4 medium courgettes
a small handful of basil leaves, plus extra to serve
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Method
1. Cut the courgette into thin discs – about 1 ? 2cm wide.
2. Put a heavy bottomed casserole or sauté pan on a hob at the lowest heat you can. Pour in three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, followed by the fennel seeds. Fry for a minute on medium-high before adding the courgettes and a generous pinch of salt.
3. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting then give the courgettes a toss so they are coated in the oil, place a lid on top then cook very gently for 30 minutes. The courgettes shouldn’t fry or brown but should steam in the moisture that comes from them.
4. Give the courgettes a gentle stir a few times so they all cook evenly. After half an hour, add the basil leaves, garlic slices and chilli flakes if using into the courgettes, then cook for another 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat then add the lemon zest, half the lemon juice, and about 3 more tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (trust me, this is what makes it tastes good!) Give it a taste and then season with more salt and pepper if needed.
6. At this point you can go a few ways – as mentioned above.
7. Cook your chosen pasta shape, then add it into the pan with the courgettes with a generous grating of Parmesan, optional chopped parsley and a few generous splashes of pasta water.
8. Drain and rinse your chosen pulse or bean then add to the pan with the courgettes, generous grating of Parmesan, optional chopped parsley and a few generous splashes of freshly boiled water or chicken/ vegetable stock.
9. Or simply serve with ricotta and sourdough or as a side.