Courgette salad
Instructions
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Tip
To roast the courgettes evenly, you need to also slice them evenly. You can use a mandolin to do so. When spreading them on the baking sheet, be careful to place them in a single layer without them overlapping so they roast evenly. Before assembling the salad, let the courgette slices cool a bit. This will prevent them from melting the cheese.
Questions about courgette salad
If you have some questions about this easy, delicious salad, we have the answers. Below, we go through some of the most frequently asked questions that help shed some light on how to make this irresistible side dish.
Ingredients
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Courgette
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400 g |
|---|---|
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Harissa paste
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2 tsp |
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Honey
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1 tsp |
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Oil
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2 tsp |
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Salt
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½ tsp |
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Brussels sprouts
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30 g |
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White cheese
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200 g |
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Fresh mint
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1 handful |
Make a flavourful salad with courgette and harissa
What is better than a simple but flavourful salad? Not much, we believe – and our grilled courgette salad with harissa and white cheese fits neatly into that category. It is incredibly easy to make but utterly irresistible when served. The thin slices of courgette are mixed with harissa – a North African chilli paste packed with great-tasting spices sure to liven up any ingredient. In the oven, the thin slices of courgette caramelise and give them a layer of delicious sweetness.
Mixed with honey and oil, the harissa paste gives the salad a spicy and slightly smoky flavour. For a simple dish like this, this minor addition provides a lot of complexity. The heat goes extremely well with the sweetness of the honey and the tanginess of the cheese. Harissa also contains cumin and coriander – two spices that work wonderfully with a lot of different meals like meats, making the salad perfect as a side dish.
A versatile side dish for various meals
Our roasted courgette salad recipe can be easily combined with a vast number of dishes. It is a versatile side dish that would be perfect to pair with grilled chicken, beef, lamb or fish. The salad is bursting with spicy, tangy, and fresh flavours that would complement any of these proteins.
A different but equally delicious route could be to serve the salad on a bed of quinoa or couscous. Not only do quinoa or couscous and courgette taste great together, the fluffy couscous or quinoa soaks up any flavourful liquids from your salad. It is important that you choose a dish that matches and complements the flavour profile of your salad. A light pasta primavera or lemon garlic pasta both have the freshness of the salad, but its savoury, mildly sweet notes round out the whole meal. Together, they make up a perfect dish you can indulge in for lunch or even dinner.
Use different, delicious leftover vegetables
This recipe is perfect for using leftover vegetables. Of course, courgettes, that you might have forgotten about in the back of the vegetable tray in the fridge. But you can also try other leftover vegetables as an addition to the baked, charred courgette slices. Try leftover bell peppers or aubergines, which go great with the courgette’s mild flavour and delightful texture. Slice them thinly, toss them in the harissa mixture, and roast them like the courgette slices. Root vegetables are also delicious, for example, carrots, parsnips, or beetroots, depending on what you have left in the fridge. These take longer to roast, though, as they are denser than courgettes. Sprinkle them with salt before roasting to draw out their natural sugars so they caramelise deliciously in the oven. Leftover onions, leeks, brussels sprouts, or the like are equally delicious.
No matter which leftover vegetables you choose, consider their cooking time compared to the courgettes so you make sure everything cooks perfectly in the oven. Simply make a larger batch of the harissa mixture so you have enough for the additional vegetables and follow the recipe! To use other leftover vegetables in new dishes, you can serve the salad with a main dish like the scrumptious asparagus quiche or the tasty vegetable tart – these are delicious with the savoury courgette and are also perfect options for leftovers.
