Summer Time Easy Courgette - Zucchini Carpaccio

French Tart's Note:

A delightful and very elegant summer starter dish that is fresh and easy to make. The combination of the parmesan cheese with the hazenut oil and black olives is a very sophisticated flavour, making this a wonderful dish to serve before any special summer dinner party. If you cannot get hold of hazelnut oil, walnut oil would be a good substitute. Green olives can also be used, but the colours will not be so dramatic! Try to use FRESHLY grated/shaved parmesan cheese from a block, the taste is far better than the pre-packed grated cheese. Wine suggestion - a chilled Chablis or Chardonnay.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 3 -4 small hard courgettes (zucchini)
• 100 g parmesan cheese, fresh shavings
• 30 g pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or 2 tablespoons of hazelnut or walnut oil)
• 1 tablespoon hazelnut oil (or walnut oil)
• 12 pitted black olives
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
• pink peppercorns
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Wash the courgettes, dry them in kitchen paper, cut off the ends, slice them as thinly as possible and arrange them in layers on a plate. Or, you can peel them into long strips with a potato peeler, vegetable peeler, or a mandolin.
2. Pour the both types of oil evenly over the courgettes. Thinly slice the parmesan into shavings and spread over the courgettes. Sprinkle the pine nuts, black olives, a few crushed pink peppercorns ver the top and season to tate with salt and black pepper.
3. Wash, dry and finely snip the parsley; sprinkle over the courgettes and serve immediately with fresh crusty bread.
4. TIP: The same recipe can be prepared in the following way: leave the courgette slices to marinate in a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, chives, salt and pepper for 12 hours.
5. When it's time to serve, drain the courgette slices, place them on individual plates and finish with a garnish of parmesan, pine nuts and black olives.

Reviews

[Tisme]

A tribute recipe to my my last surviving homegrown zucchini of the season! Wonderful recipe, and using the marinading option is wonderful. Takes a little longer but well worth the effort! Served with fresh crusty bread this is a superb recipe and well worth the effort. Although I only had frozen shaved parmesan on hand and next time I would like to use it freshly shaved from the block as suggested. This recipe will be certainly saved for next succhini season. Thanks FT great recipe.

[twissis]

Zucchini is grown in hothouses here, so I can enjoy this easy-fix appy yr-round. A new & unusual combo for me, I admit was a bit wary of how it might be received by my DH & our Post-Thanksgiving dinner party guests, but I should not have been. Served as part of a combo starter platter w/2 other appys, DH remarked how good it was ~ high praise from him as he tends to rate more harshly than I do. I used the TIP method of prep w/dried parsley + powder variety Parmesan & then served it w/crusty rolls. I then served the meager leftovers w/turkey & dressing to snap the pic the next dy. Made for the Nov Photo Challenge (Appys) + the Nov Aussie/NZ Recipe Swap & another success, FT! Thx for sharing this recipe w/us. :-)

[Chef #891885]

I made a big batch to take to work, and then ate with toasted bread and pesto. Great!