Zucchini, Ricotta & Orzo Salad
A disappointing lack of August sunshine means that the five tomato plants in my garden are laden with green tomatoes. One or two have ripened, but it looks like I will be making a lot of green tomato chutney this year. Other vegetables seem to have flourished, especially zucchini or courgettes, as they are known here in the UK. Every gardener I speak to seems to have a bumper crop and I get asked if I have any nice recipes to make the most of them.
Young zucchini/courgettes are so lovely when freshly picked, I think they are best enjoyed raw, thinly sliced with light dressing or lightly chargrilled as in this salad. Boiling them to watery mush would be a travesty at this time of year. The Italians know how to treat vegetables with respect, it is common for them to be the star of the dish and their love of zucchini is renowned. I often have this Italian salad for lunch, its quick and easy to prepare and quantities easily increased if you are entertaining. It also makes a lovely side dish and is suitable for vegetarians if you use parmesan made with vegetarian rennet, such as Twineham Grange.
When a dish has so few components , I always feel it is important to use the best ingredients you can find. Try and use small zucchini/courgettes, as fresh as possible, from your local market or greengrocer. Fresh ricotta is available in many Italian delis along with orzo, a tiny barley shaped pasta, but you can also find it in most large supermarkets. I picked a bunch of basil at my local farm shop, they have a wonderful herb garden which customers are encouraged to utilise, but you may have a pot on your windowsill. Hopefully there may be some sunny days yet to come and you can enjoy this dish at its best, al fresco.
Zucchini, Ricotta & Orzo Salad
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 20 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
200g orzo pasta
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, plus an extra 4 tablespoons to drizzle on the finished dish
Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
6 large zucchini/ courgettes - green and/or yellow
375g fresh ricotta, broken into pieces
45g Parmesan cheese (a great vegetarian version is Twineham Grange by Bookham Harrison Farm in Surrey), shaved.
Large bunch of basil leaves
Juice of a lemon
Instructions
Cook the orzo for 7 minutes in boiling water or as directed on the packet. Drain and add to bowl with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, season with salt & pepper.
Slice the courgettes on the diagonal into rounds, about 4mm thick.
Put the courgettes in a dish, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Heat a griddle or frying pan until hot and add the courgettes, turn down the heat and cook the courgettes in batches. Transfer each cooked batch to a plate.
Take a shallow serving dish and layer the courgettes, ricotta, parmesan shavings, basil leaves and orzo, drizzling each layer with the remaining olive oil and and lemon juice.
Scatter a few basil leaves and parmesan shavings on top and serve at room temperature.