Courgette Salad (raw courgette, basil, pine nuts and Parmesan)
Courgette salad is bright, flavourful, quick & simple to make and incredibly versatile. With flavours reminiscent of pesto this raw courgette salad is good enough to serve alongside steak, chicken or fish, but equally good on a table of mixed small plates.
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 188kcal
Ingredients
- 350 g Courgette
- ½ teaspoon Sea salt
- 2 tablespoons Pine nuts
- 30 g Parmesan cheese Finely grated
- 20 g Basil leaves fresh
- 2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Begin by chopping the end of the courgette at a steep angle. Now finely slice it on this diagonal. Aim for slices around 1-1.5mm thick. If you have a mandolin this will enable you to achieve lovely even slices.
- Put a sheet of kitchen towel into the base of a colander. Layer the courgette slices up, sprinkling with the salt as you go. Toss lightly and leave to sit for 15 minutes.
- After this time the courgette should be slightly limp. Rinse thoroughly in fresh, cold water and drain well on kitchen towel.
- Put the courgette slices into a wide bowl. Add the basil leaves, pine nuts, grated cheese and olive oil and mix gently (use your hands).
- Season to taste and serve immediately.
Notes
- Use a mandolin: If you have one, a mandolin makes short work of slicing the courgette. Failing that, use a sharp knife and slice extremely thinly or use a Y-shaped vegetable peeler.
- Use freshly grated parmesan: Store bought grated parmesan is much drier and not recommended for this recipe.
- Toss gently: It is very easy to bruise basil leaves, so toss using your hands rather than forks and spoons.
Variations
- Make it veggie: Parmesan cheese is not suitable for vegetarians so you will need to swap it for vegetarian Italian hard cheese (supermarkets usually stock some close to the parmesan).
- Make it into lunch: To make a stand alone main salad add in any or all of the following:
- Cooked chicken
- Crispy bacon
- Sliced new potatoes
- Crunchy croutons
- Add spice: Swap 10ml of the extra virgin olive oil for chilli oil.
- More cheese:
- Rip a mozzarella ball into pieces and mix into your raw courgette salad.
- Dot spoonfuls of creamy ricotta cheese over the top of your salad.
- Swap the Basil: Mint is a great alternative for this salad.
- Switch the nuts: Replace the pine nuts with roughly chopped hazelnuts or almonds.
Nutrition
Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 558mg | Potassium: 373mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 665IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 150mg | Iron: 1mg
