Lemony Courgettes

Strong, powerful and leave a lasting impression. Not a sentence I'd usually associate with courgettes (zucchini American friends). My husband hates courgettes but my daughter could live off them she loves them so much, they were her first and only food choice for a while but plain and steamed. These are not standard courgettes, these are special and PACKED with flavour. You just have to be friends with lemon and garlic to find true love with these.

NUTRITIONAL OVERVIEW

COURGETTES are very low in calories and are believed to be good anti-oxidants. They are an excellent source of copper and manganese which are good for iron absorption and wound healing and among many other nutrients they're a very good source of vitamin C....strengthen that immune system!

Eat the skins as the bulk of their nutrients are stored there and you'll also benefit from the fiber. LEMONS are just leaders in the plant world of bringing out flavours and bring you a huge does of vitamin C while they're at it. I add lemons to so many things, they just bring food to life! GARLIC is my favourite addition in the kitchen, ideally we should eat 2 cloves per day to get the beneifts from them which are linked to cancer-fighting, cardiovascular health. They are also immune boosting and anti-inflammatory.

Start by cutting the ends off each courgette then cutting into four batons. If you're not using these small Arabic ones and have a big one instead then these measure about 2.5 inches in length. You can cut them any way you like, the thinner they are the crispier they'll be, I like to have a little bit of squish left in mine so I don't cut them too thin.

I adore garlic and use 4 cloves int he recipe, if you or your guests are not fanatical about them use 2-3 instead.

You'll make up the sauce using about 3 lemons, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper, Mix the courgettes through then spoon them on to a baking sheet leaving the rest of the liquid in the bowl for later.

Bake for 15 mins at 200 Celsius and flip them over. Return to the oven for a further 15 mins.

Once they're done you want to add that sauce back to the cooked courgettes (you can reserve some for the most delicious tomatoes on toast for brekkie tomorrow)

Recipe

LEMONY COURGETTES

This particular recipe has a strong lemony taste and a tonne of garlic in it, That's a personal preference adjust as you will. You can absolutely adjust the recipe using less of both and still have a really delicious and simple side dish.

SERVES 2-4

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOK TIME 35 MINS | TOTAL 45 MINS

INGREDIENTS

500G courgettes (about 9 small ones)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice (2- 3 lemons)
4 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 measured tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius
Chop the ends off the courgettes and cut in to 2.5 inch long batons.
In a bowl add the oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Add the batons to the bowl and stir to coat. Leave in the juices until oven is hot enough.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Transfer the courgettes on to the baking paper leaving the rest of the liquid for later.
Bake the courgettes for 35 minutes turning them over at about 15 minutes.
Keep an eye on them near the end of cooking time and check they don't burn (thinner slices will take less time to cook).
Transfer the batons in to a side dish and drizzle over the remaining lemony sauce (I keep some for a take on tomato bruschetta)