by Karen Guthrie posted Thu 1st Jul '10

Ingredients

• Thyme, 1 x sprig
• Courgettes, 1

Method

Ingredients:

1 x medium size very fresh courgette

1 x small lemon or half a larger one - juice squeezed

A 10cm sprig of thyme (pref. lemon thyme), leaves picked from woody stem

Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

2-3 tablespoons of best quality extra virgin olive oil

METHOD:

Put the oil, lemon juice, thyme, pepper and salt to taste into a small bowl or a pestle and mortar, and roughly mix / grind to release the aroma of the herb. Put aside.

Top and tail the courgette and then , using a potato peeler, slice the courgette lengthways into very thin ribbons - careful when you get to the end as it's easy to peel yourself too.

Put everything into a serving bowl, mix well and eat immediately - the high water content of the courgette means this dish won't wait around well.

Variations: Substitute chives for the thyme, soy sauce for the salt and sesame oil for the olive oil, and you have a delicious Asian flavoured version

Serves 2 as a starter or side dish

Background

A very easy recipe, making a nice change from always cooking courgettes. Also unusual in that the thyme is left uncooked too. Great with barbecued fish and meat.