Claudia Roden
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
3 courgettes (about 800g in total)
olive or sunflower oil
100ml white wine vinegar
50g sugar
1 tbsp dried mint
salt and black pepper
extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Veg Portions / Serving: 2
Recipe from Med: A Cookbook by Claudia Roden. Photography by Jamie Lau.
Sweet and sour is one of the tastes the Arabs brought to Sicily in the ninth century. This courgette dish, zucchine in agrodolce alla menta, is wonderful with ricotta, which is here as a recommended option.
Method:
Preheat the grill to high. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut each courgette lengthways into 1cm-thick slices. Place them on the foil, brush with oil on both sides and sprinkle lightly with salt. Grill for about 10 minutes, turning them over once, until they are tender and lightly browned in places. Alternatively, you can cook them on a griddle pan.
Heat the vinegar and sugar with the dried mint and some pepper in a small pan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts, then simmer for 2 minutes to reduce it a little. Arrange the courgette slices side by side on a serving plate, pour the vinegar dressing over them and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
For the whipped ricotta:
Using a fork, whip 250g ricotta with 11⁄2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, the grated zest of 1⁄2 small lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.
Get kids to brush the oil and sprinkle the salt on the courgettes. They can also pour over the dressing and whip the ricotta.
Claudia Roden
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