Courgette & Yoghurt Salad

We have loads of courgettes to use up, it’s a beautiful Summer day, Ali Farka Toure is on the CD Player….. we’ll be eating on the patio this evening. This is the side dish we’re having with beef kebabs and rice.

500g Courgettes

350g Spinach

150ml yoghurt

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

Our courgettes are the round ones – they are roughly the size and shape of a green cricket ball. In fact I have had to prevent the boy from playing nets in the garden with them, though we do have quite a lot! We’re using Turkish yoghurt as it’s the envy of the world. The boy’s family have a garlic farm so we always have plenty of the good stuff!

Slice the courgettes into batons. Ours will look more like McDonalds French fries, given the shape, but it doesn’t matter.

Blanch the courgettes for no more than 90 seconds. Scoop out with a slotted spoon so you can do the spinach in the same water. Again, 90 seconds. Ali Farke Toure’s music is very rhythmic and good for counting. You don’t need a clock – just count and watch what’s happening in the pan.

Drain the spinach well and shred it finely with your fingers. Mix well with the garlic, ginger and yoghurt. Pour over the courgette batons and toss so it all gets covered and leave it to marinade for a few hours. We’re not putting it in the fridge, so it won’t jar with the hot beef and rice. The wine is a little too cold but we don’t care. The boy has most of it. It means he doesn’t notice how much of the courgette salad ends up on his plate.