If you’re looking for a salad, that’s different from your usual leafy salad, this recipe has you covered. It brings together crisp courgettes, creamy/salty feta, toasted hazelnuts and juicy pomegranate seeds, all tossed in a bright lemon and honey dressing.
Perfectly paired with grilled chicken, lamb, fish or halloumi – maybe the perfect side salad to round off your summer BBQs.
Ingredients
Salad:
- 4 medium courgettes
- 50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- Small handful fresh mint leaves
- 100g feta, crumbled
- 50g pomegranate seeds
Dressing:
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1tsp honey
- ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- Salt to season
Method
- Wash and trim the courgettes. Using a vegetable peeler, peel each courgette lengthways into long ribbons, discarding the first strip. Continue peeling, stopping when you reach the watery, seedy centre. Discard the centre.
- Spread the courgette ribbons out on a clean tea towel or sheets of kitchen paper and gently pat dry to remove any excess surface moisture.
- Over a low-medium heat, toast the chopped hazelnuts until fragrant (around 3-5 minutes) stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly golden.
- To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, lemon zest and black pepper. Season with salt to taste.
- Add the courgette, red onion and mint to a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and gently toss until everything is coated.
- Scatter over the feta, toasted hazelnuts and pomegranate seeds.
- Taste and add a little more salt, lemon juice or pepper if needed.
Top Tip
For the best texture, dress the courgettes shortly before serving. The longer they sit, the more moisture they’ll release.
