Courgette (zucchini), pine nut, parsley and lemon salad

I was invited to a barbeque last weekend and didn’t want to arrive empty handed. With some courgettes (or zucchini) growing in the garden (albeit very small due to lack of sun) I decided to put together a healthy salad with larger courgettes from my local greengrocer and some parsley from the garden and pine nuts from my store cupboard.

INGREDIENTS

A selection of courgettes ( I used regular green and yellow ones and some round Italian variety from the garden)

A handful of pine nuts

Glug of olive oil

Large bunch of flat leaf parlsey (roughly chopped)

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground  black pepper

METHOD

In a large frying pan, stirring occasionally, toast the pine  nuts over a medium heat until they are golden. (Don’t leave them unattended as they can burn quickly). Transfer to a plate to cool.

Wash and dry the courgettes then slice (approx 1cm thickness)

Add a good glug of olive oil to the frying pan when it’s hot enough, add the courgettes (you may need to do this in batches).  Fry the courgettes until golden,  don’t worry if all sides aren’t golden, a little bit of texture adds to the salad.

When all the courgettes are cooked transfer all of them back to the pan with the heat turn off.  Squeeze the lemon juice over them, add the pine nuts, season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parley.

Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy x

Courgette, pine nut, parsley and lemon salad