Shaved courgette salad recipe
Yes, this salad dressing requires a blender, but don’t write it off – it’s worth the effort! Not only is it rich and creamy from the pine nuts, with a lovely, light, lemony flavour, but it’s also very versatile.
If you like, double the recipe, chill it and keep it handy to use as a mayonnaise-like spread for sandwiches or crackers or as a dressing for your favourite coleslaw. Since some domestic blenders are larger than others, you may need to double the recipe in order for the dressing to blend properly.
I definitely recommend using small, tender courgettes (zucchinis) here, as their flesh is buttery and sweeter than large ones. You’ll find an abundance of different colours at the farmers’ market that all look beautiful shaved and tossed with red or golden cherry tomatoes.
If you can’t find purslane, you can add a big handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley, and it’ll still taste great.
Ingredients
For the dressing- 30 g pine nuts, plus 2 tablespoons for salad
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 spring onion, white part only, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
- 0.25 tsp sea salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 60 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tbsps
- 8 small courgettes, around 450g
- 150 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 90 g trimmed purslane sprigs (or a big handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley)
- 10 g chopped chives
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Salad
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 0 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- First, make the dressing. Warm a small frying pan over medium heat. Add pine nuts and toast, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.
- Roughly chop 2 tablespoons and set aside for salad. Place remaining 30 g (1 oz/¼ cup) pine nuts in an upright blender along with garlic, spring onion, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and a pinch of black pepper.
- Blend on high speed for 1 minute, scrape sides using a rubber spatula and blend again. While blender is running, slowly add olive oil and continue blending until thick and creamy.
- Transfer to a jar and set aside until ready to serve salad. Dressing can be refrigerated for up to three days, but allow to come to room temperature and mix well before using.
- Now make your salad. Wash and trim ends of courgette and cut any that are longer than 12.5 cm (5 in) in half. Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave the courgette into long, thin strips.
- Place in a salad bowl along with cherry tomatoes, purslane and reserved crushed pine nuts; toss to combine and sprinkle with chives. If dressing has separated, shake well and drizzle over salad, lightly toss and serve immediately.
This recipe is extracted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin, published by Jacqui Small.
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