The Cottage Smallholder

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.