Each evening in Italy we started our meal with a bowl of salad. I loved that the selection of vegetables were simply but beautifully prepared and tasted so fresh. My favourite dish was the courgettes. They tasted so very courgette-y! Knew I’d be preparing them in the same way once I returned home. And with a garden exploding with courgettes, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Almost every day, in fact.
With a dish this very simple, it’s important that the courgettes are very fresh and aren’t too large. Also, if you have a special bottle of olive oil, this is good time to use it.
Poached Courgettes with Parsley
(serves 4 as a side)
3 smalll-ish courgettes (not baby ones but not big fat ones either)
Salt
Extra virgin olive oil (the best you have)
Parsley
- Add the whole courgettes to a pan of cold well salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain the courgettes and run under cold water so they don’t cook any more.
- Slice the courgettes lengthways then into 0.5cm pieces so they are little semi-circles.
- Toss with a good glug of olive oil and gently toss with the parsley.
- Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.
A Wee Bit of Cooking 
Be nice with dill too and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice