Courgette carpaccio with lemon, mint and pine nuts

Name: Courgette carpaccio with lemon, mint and pine nuts
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 350 g Courgettes (2–3 small, very firm courgettes, yielding 300 g slices once the centres are removed); 60 g Lemon (1/2 lemon: all its zest, about 1 tsp, and 15 g juice, roughly the juice of a quarter); 35 g Extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp for dressing, plus 1/2 tbsp drizzled over to serve); 20 g Pine nuts (2 tbsp); 6 g Fresh mint (about 12 leaves); 2 g Fine salt (1/3 tsp); 0.4 g Black peppercorns (a few turns of the pepper mill); 0.5 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino) (1 pinch); 1 g Fleur de sel (a few crystals to serve)

pareve Italian · easy · 25 min, including 15 hands-on

Young courgettes sliced paper-thin, briefly dressed with salt and lemon, then drained and coated in olive oil just before serving, with lightly toasted pine nuts and mint. A fresh, entirely pareve starter.

Ingredients for two

350 g	Courgettes 2–3 small, very firm courgettes, yielding 300 g slices once the centres are removed
60 g	Lemon 1/2 lemon: all its zest, about 1 tsp, and 15 g juice, roughly the juice of a quarter
35 g	Extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp for dressing, plus 1/2 tbsp drizzled over to serve
20 g	Pine nuts 2 tbsp
6 g	Fresh mint about 12 leaves
2 g	Fine salt 1/3 tsp
0.4 g	Black peppercorns a few turns of the pepper mill
0.5 g	Chilli flakes (peperoncino) 1 pinch (optional)
1 g	Fleur de sel a few crystals to serve (optional)

Method

Wash the courgettes and trim both ends. Cut into 1–2 mm slices with a mandoline, or long ribbons with a wide vegetable peeler, rotating the courgettes as you work. Stop at the seeds and save the spongy centres for soup or an omelette. You should have about 300 g slices; spread them in a wide dish.
Finely grate the zest of the half lemon, about 1 tsp, before squeezing it. Put half the zest in a small dish with the pepper and chilli, and reserve the rest for serving. Squeeze the lemon and measure 15 g juice, about a quarter lemon's worth. Dissolve the 2 g salt in it, pour over the courgettes and mix gently with your hands. Refrigerate for 8–10 minutes: the slices should soften and turn translucent around the edges while keeping a crisp centre.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small, dry frying pan over a medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly. As soon as they turn pale golden, tip onto a cold plate. Drain the courgettes in a colander and gently squeeze between your hands or blot with kitchen paper: the released water should not reach the serving plates. Return to the wiped-dry dish, add the zest, pepper and chilli mixture and 30 g olive oil (3 tbsp), then lift the slices with two spoons until evenly coated and glossy.
Immediately mound onto two plates and scatter with torn mint, the remaining zest and the pine nuts. Finish with a drizzle of uncooked olive oil, the remaining 5 g, and a few crystals of fleur de sel. Serve straight away: the plates should stay dry, without juice pooling at the bottom.

On your plate

Recipe

264 kcal · protein 4 g · carbs 5 g · fat 25 g

Quantities per person

175 g Courgettes
30 g Lemon
17.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
10 g Pine nuts
3 g Fresh mint
1 g Fine salt
0.2 g Black peppercorns
0.25 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino)
0.5 g Fleur de sel

Cooking tips

Choose small courgettes; larger ones have a spongy centre that is less pleasant raw. Do not marinate for an hour, as the lemon would soften away their crunch. Draining makes the difference between glossy slices and a puddle. Keep the pine nuts separate until serving. Basil can replace mint. As written, this starter is pareve and suits a meat, dairy or pareve dinner. For a dairy dinner, finish with 30 g shaved pecorino romano or ricotta salata; for a meat dinner, serve as it is.

Equipment : mandoline or wide vegetable peeler, fine grater, pepper mill, wide dish, colander, small frying pan

Italian raw courgette starter with lemon (carpaccio di zucchine), in a pareve version with mint and pine nuts.