Salad, starter or side: Yotam Ottolenghi's courgette recipes | Food (2024)

Grilled courgettes with warm yoghurt and saffron butter (pictured above)

This dish is inspired by kousa b’laban, a Middle Eastern dish of stuffed baby marrow cooked in yoghurt sauce. This simplified version involves serving the warm sauce and grilled courgettes separately, with a quick saffron butter to spoon on top. If you don’t have saffron, a pinch of turmeric will do. Serve as a starter, or as a side for grilled meat or fish.

Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2-4

Heat the grill to a high setting. Put the butter and saffron in a small saucepan, melt on a medium heat, then set aside to infuse while you get on with everything else.

Put the marrow or courgettes on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, add two tablespoons of oil, a third of a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and toss to combine. Arrange cut side up on the tray, then grill for 15-20 minutes, until nicely charred and softened.

Towards the last 10 minutes of the grilling time, make the sauce. In a large bowl, whisk the cornflour and three tablespoons of water until smooth, then add the yoghurt, garlic, dried mint, remaining half-tablespoon of oil and a half-teaspoon of salt. Whisk to combine, then transfer to a large, nonstick saute pan on a medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly and warmed through. Do not let it boil, or it will split.

Transfer the warm yoghurt sauce to a plate with a lip and top with the courgettes, arranging them grilled side up. Spoon over the saffron butter, then sprinkle with the coriander seeds and mint leaves. Squeeze over the lemon half and serve right away.

Summer courgettes with tomatoes and ricotta

Prep 25 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4 as a starter or a side

Put a large, nonstick saute pan on a medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of oil and the garlic. Gently fry for three minutes, stirring often, until soft and aromatic – you don’t want the garlic to brown at all, so turn the heat down if necessary.

Add the courgettes, oregano, lemon skin, half the basil and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the courgettes are very soft but still mostly holding their shape. You don’t want them to brown, so turn down the heat if need be.

Remove and discard the oregano and lemon peel, then transfer the courgettes to a large plate with a lip. Spoon the salsa evenly over the courgettes, then top with spoonfuls of the ricotta. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon and a half of oil and season with a pinch of salt. Finish with the remaining basil and serve.

Fennel and courgette salad with preserved lemon dressing

Prep 35 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 4, as a side

For the preserved lemon dressing
40g preserved lemon (ie, 1-2 lemons), seeds discarded and roughly chopped (35g net weight)
½ small shallot, roughly chopped (20g)
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1½ tbsp lemon juice
2½ tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp pink peppercorns, roughly crushed in a mortar

First make the dressing. Put the preserved lemon, shallot, garlic and lemon juice in a small food processor and blitz until finely chopped. With the motor running, gradually add the oil and blitz for a minute or two more, until completely smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the crushed pink peppercorns.

To serve, spread half the fennel and courgette mixture out on a large, round platter. Spoon over half the dressing and half the fennel seeds, top with the remaining fennel and courgette mix, then spoon over the remaining dressing and seeds, and serve at once.