The air in the morning and evenings has been decidedly cool this past week. I always find it funny how it just seems to creep up on you here in NZ. One day you’re sweltering in the sticky heat of summer, finding it hard to imagine it will ever cool down, then bam, it’s autumn.
Our garden is still producing bowlfuls of tomatoes most days, the chillies have slowed down but tons of flowers give me hope for one more round before frost kills them all. We’re also harvesting lots of honey-sweet ripe figs and golden peaches. We weren’t early enough to get zucchini (courgette) in but my sister and friends kept us in good supply all summer long. In the dying moments of their season, I thought I’d better quickly share this super simple, flavour packed salad. While I could pretend the tender grilled zucchini are the star of the show, it’s really the roasted capsicum (red pepper) dressing that deserves that title. Sweet, silky and just a little bit tart, I imagine it will also be perfect later on when autumn really takes hold, drizzled over roasted kumara or pumpkin.
Grilled courgette + spinach with roasted capsicum (red pepper) dressing
You could also use a selection of mixed salad greens in place of the spinach, if preferred. Pinenuts have a tendency to go rancid quite quickly due to their high oil content, which is why I always store mine in the freezer. They can be used straight from the freezer. If you’re vegan, simply use 1/2 teaspoon brown rice syrup or unrefined raw sugar in place of the honey.
4 medium courgettes, ends trimmed
Olive oil, to shallow-fry
1 bunch baby spinach (2-3 handfuls)
2 tablespoons pinenuts, lightly toasted
Roasted capsicum dressing
1 red capsicum (red pepper), halved lengthwise and seeds removed
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon honey or brown rice syrup (for vegan option)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
125ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt, to taste
Set oven to grill, place the capsicum halves, cut-side down onto a tray and rub a little olive oil onto the tops. Grill 8-10 minutes or until charred and black in places. Remove from the oven and place into a bowl, cover with a tight-fitting lid/plate and set aside 5-10 minutes. Peel off skin and discard. Place grilled capsicum, garlic, honey and red wine vinegar into a blender and pulse until roughly blended. Add olive oil and blend on high until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt, to taste.
Slice courgettes into 1 cm rounds. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook courgette in batches until golden brown on both sides. Season with a little salt and pepper, then transfer to a plate, repeat with remaining courgette.
To serve, arrange spinach leaves and grilled courgette onto a platter, scatter with toasted pinenuts and drizzle with enough dressing to coat the leaves. Any leftover dressing will store in a glass jar in the fridge for 4-5 days.
NB: To toast pinenuts, place into a dry frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often until golden. Watch carefully as they can go from light golden, to burnt in a matter of seconds.
This recipe was first created for and featured in Nourish Magazine (NZ).
11 Responses
grilled zucchini spinach salad looks very nice.. thanks for sharing
You’re welcome Jessica, I hope you try it 🙂 xx
I made this dressing tonight and added it to a salad of charred corn and capsicum, avocado, tomato, green beans and rocket. It mde the salad delicious. Thanks, Emma.
That sounds like a great way to use this dressing recipe! Stoked you loved it x
What a gorgeous recipe with in season produce. Love It!
Thanks Emma! xx
You’re welcome Lisa! xx
Looks Delicious!! Great Blog and thanks for the post
You’re welcome 🙂
This looks unbelievably delicious!! Going to make this in the upcoming days!! Thanks for the receipe.
That sounds like a great!!!!
This salad looks so delicious and easy, dressing looks so perfect and yummy as well!!!Thank you!