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Joanna’s food: Lemony courgette salad recipe review

lemony-courgette-salad

Photo: Wobbly photo of half eaten lemony courgette salad

I harvested our first courgette of the year this morning. We have several courgette plants growing in large pots and a few scattered at the corners of borders in the kitchen garden. I’m not very keen on courgettes per se but have discovered that they are great added to a slow cooked spaghetti sauce or the filling for a Cottage or Shepherd’s pie. So this year we are growing them in earnest. They can be blanched/cooked and frozen for use during the winter months. Courgettes are quite pricey so we’re longing for a glut.

I have been planning the arrival of our first courgette for quite some time. Almost two years ago I spotted a recipe for Lemony Courgette Salad  on Joanna’s Food. Every time that I mentioned this to Danny, he pulled a mournful face at the thought of raw courgette. This morning when I appeared with a single courgette, he looked suspicious.
“We’re having a pizza tonight with a few salad side dishes.”
“Are you going to make That Courgette Salad. The lemony one?”
“Yes. But I’ll only make a tiny salad, using half a courgette. Insurance – as we might not like it.”

As so often happens I discovered that our pine nuts were well past by their sell by date. I didn’t have much fresh lemon either and didn’t have time to harvest herbs from the garden. So I used Italian lemon infused white wine vinegar, honey, virgin olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a good dash of ground white pepper. I sliced the half courgette finely in the Magimix.

The result was superb.
“I do wish that you’d used the whole courgette. This is crunchy and sublime. I never would have guessed that I was eating raw courgette.”

Joanna. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

*There is just one essential fact to mention. Joanna has only ever used fresh home grown courgettes. They do taste quite different, much sweeter and softer than their supermarket cousins. I have no idea how this recipe would turn out using a less fresh courgette. I’d love to hear about your experiences if you try this recipe using supermarket courgettes. Even if was only half a courgette.


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13 Comments

  1. Fiona Nevile

    Hello Carol

    Joanna’s recipe was stunning and her site is a great place for finding delicious stuff that is healthy heart friendly.

  2. Any courgette recipe is to be appreciated and this one looks good – will try it soon. Added bonus was the discovery of another great food blog – many thanks.

  3. Fiona Nevile

    Hi Michelle

    I reckon that a tiny bit of a preserved lemon would be good – no bigger than half an almond and diced very fine. Then I’d leave out the lemon juice.

    So pleased that my recipes work for you 🙂

    Hi Linda

    Thanks for setting things straight on the courgettes from supermarkets front.

    Love the idea of adding feta and capers.

    Hello Joanna

    We really got into courgettes last year –diced to pad out shepherd’s pie and bolognaise sauce. I also discovered that courgette soup is scrummy too.

    I have started making cakes (someone gave us a Kitchen Aid 😉 ;)) So I’m definitely going to try putting then in cakes too.

    Hi Pamela

    It is delicious.

    Thanks for your tips on adding them to pizza and frittata. Can’t wait to try them out. Good idea freezing and grating them too.

    Hello Tamara

    You can’t beat fresh courgettes straight from the garden. I was stunned at how delicious this recipe was.

    Hi Wendy

    I do hope that you enjoyed the dish!

    Hello Linda

    I know that we have one of those peelers too. Now I have to mount a deep search to find it 😉

    Thanks for sharing your recipe. Sounds yummy.

    Hi Recipe Cooker

    Thanks for dropping by.

    Hello Joanna

    It’s a great recipe. Thank you. So simple and summery.

    My pine nuts were a year out of date so I didn’t want to take a chance and ruin the dish.

    Hi Paul

    Your twist on the recipe sounds outrageously good. Thanks for dropping by, much appreciated.

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