Courgettes, peanut tahini and pickled fennel
- Side
- 6
- 30 minutes
"Cooking the fennel in a dry pan before adding the lime is a cool technique, as it both cooks and pickles the fennel at the same time. I like to use the Mexican Gran Luchito brand of jalapeños that chars the chillies before pickling, but any kind works nicely here. Both the tahini and fennel can be made ahead; just make sure they’re not fridge cold when you serve."
This recipe is taken from Centrepiece: Bold, vibrant recipes to put vegetables in the spotlight by Helen Graham (£28, Octopus Publishing Group). Photography by Yuki Sugiura.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 750g of courgette, halved vertically, then halved horizontally
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
Pickled fennel
- 1 fennel bulb, tops, tough outer leaves and core removed, finely chopped (about 200g)
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 6 lime leaves, roughly chopped
- 75ml of olive oil
- 60g of pickled jalapeños, finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp pickled jalapeño brine
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Peanut tahini
- 1 tbsp of agave syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp white miso paste
- 150g of tahini
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp of smooth peanut butter
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 75ml of water
Equipment
- Temperature probe
Method
For the fennel, take a nonstick saucepan and set it over a high heat. Add the fennel and cook, without any oil, for 4-5 minutes until charred, tossing regularly to ensure it colours evenly
- 1 fennel bulb, tops, tough outer leaves and core removed, finely chopped (about 200g)
Add the lime juice and stir for a further 30 seconds until it’s all absorbed and the fennel is looking slightly sticky. Transfer to a bowl
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
If you have a high-powered bullet blender, use it to blend the lime leaves and oil together until it feels hot to the touch (or reaches 85°C if you have a probe thermometer); this will take about 3 minutes. You can also do this in the small bowl of a regular blender: just blitz until the lime leaves are finely chopped and the colour of the oil has darkened a little to pale green. Strain this into the fennel along with the jalapeño brine, pickled jalapeños and salt, then set aside
- 6 lime leaves, roughly chopped
- 75ml of olive oil
- 60g of pickled jalapeños, finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp pickled jalapeño brine
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Put all the ingredients for the peanut tahini except the measured water in a small bowl and whisk to combine, then slowly add the water as you whisk until you have a sauce the consistency of thick pancake batter. You want it to be a bit thicker than regular tahini sauce, as the fennel mixture will cause it to thin a little when the dish is served
- 1 tbsp of agave syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp white miso paste
- 150g of tahini
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp of smooth peanut butter
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 75ml of water
To cook the courgettes, lay them cut-side up and sprinkle with the salt. Leave for 5 minutes, then pat dry and heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over a high heat. Place the courgettes in the pan cut-side down and fry for 8-10 minutes until deeply browned. Flip over and cook for a further 2 minutes. This will give you quite an al dente courgette, but by all means cook them further if you wish them to be softer
- 750g of courgette, halved vertically, then halved horizontally
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
Smooth the tahini over a serving plate, then top with the courgettes and fennel
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