> Skip to content

Recipe  •  16 January 2023

 

Super-soft courgettes with harissa and lemon

A courgette recipe that will convert even the most courgette-iffy eaters.

Courgettes aren’t strictly speaking controversial, but they do tend to get a pretty lukewarm reaction from many, including, regrettably, two of our test kitchen colleagues. The reason for this is probably courgettes’ high water content, which tends to make them, well, watery. There are plenty of ways to combat this – frying and grilling are two examples – but we actually use it to our advantage here, cooking the courgettes slowly in their own juices, making them fantastically soft and enhancing their flavour by a long soak with fried garlic. (And in the process, we also managed to win over our two courgette-iffy colleagues, we’re happy to announce.) The courgettes are very good hot, but are even better after 15 minutes or so, or even at room temperature, once the flavours have had a chance to get to know each other. Make them a day in advance, if you want to get ahead; just hold off on adding the basil until you’re ready to serve.

Serves 4

  • 85ml olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp rose harissa (adjust according to the brand you are using)
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • ½ preserved lemon, finely chopped, discarding any pips (10g)
  • 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 1kg courgettes, finely sliced
  • 10g basil leaves, roughly torn
  • Salt

Method

Place a large, non-stick saute pan on a medium-high heat with the oil and garlic. Gently fry for 4 minutes, stirring often, until soft, golden and aromatic. You don’t want the garlic to become at all browned or crispy, so turn the heat down if necessary. Remove 3 tablespoons of oil, along with half the garlic, and transfer to a small bowl with the harissa, chilli, preserved lemon and lemon juice. Stir together and set aside.

Return the pan to a high heat and add the courgettes and 1 ¼ teaspoons of salt. Cook for 18 minutes, stirring often, until the courgettes are very soft, but are still mostly holding their shape (you don’t want the courgettes to brown, so turn the heat down if necessary). Stir through half the basil and transfer to a platter. Spoon the harissa mixture over the courgettes. Leave to sit for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt and finish with the remaining basil.

Feature Title

Ottolenghi FLAVOUR
The third installment in Yotam’s bestselling and multi-award-winning PLENTY series (over 2 million copies sold). FLAVOUR celebrates the limitless potential of vegetables and reveals how to transform them into magical dishes.
Read more

More features

See all recipes
Recipe
Chaat Masala Potatoes with Yoghurt and Tamarind

The delicious Ottolenghi FLAVOUR dish inspired by aloo chaat.

Recipe
Stuffed aubergine in curry and coconut dal

A satisfying aubergine and lentil dish from Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage.

Recipe
Portobello steaks and butter bean mash

A vegetarian recipe that is simply as good as any steak (with mash), if not better.

Recipe
Berry platter with sheep’s labneh and orange oil

A fruity dish from Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage.

Recipe
German-style sausage roll

If you want to spot a ‘Verena recipe’, the inclusion of butter and pastry are often clues, as is the use of mustard.

Recipe
Puttanesca-Style Salmon Bake

A mouth-watering traybake with a winning combination of flavours.

Recipe
Chocolate Ripple Fridge Cake

As anyone who’s ever been to an Australian barbecue will know, chocolate ripple cake is a ubiquitous, no-bake dessert.

Recipe
Blackberry and Star Anise Friands

These look splendid when iced – destined for top ranking on any tiered cake stand – but also work un-iced, in the cookie tin, for grabbing on a whim.

Recipe
Coconut broth prawns with fried aromatics

This dish is inspired by South East Asian flavours and is all about building depth starting with the base, which uses prawn shells to make a rich and spicy broth.

Recipe
Brown sugar meringue roulade with burnt honey apples

If the flavours of autumn could be rolled into one, this meringue roulade would be the result: warming cinnamon, burnt honey, sweet apples and tangy orange come together to make a dessert fit for the festive season.

Recipe
Prawn lasagne with habanero oil

A tasty and hearty spicy dish from Ixta Belfrage's MEZCLA.

Recipe
Baked orzo with mozzarella and oregano

A luxurious take on the pasta bake.

Looking for more recipes?

See all recipes
penguin pop image
penguin pop image