How to make Claire Thomson’s spiced roasted courgette with lime, avocado and broken tortilla
By Ella Walker. Published 2020-05-10
Tomorrow is the start of the UKs National Vegetarian Week. Here we get it started with a salad, but not as you know it.
“Perhaps my favourite of the salads and vegetables in New Kitchen Basics, this recipe ramps up flavour and texture in robust combination,” says food writer Claire Thomson. “Courgettes served like so are more va-va-voom than you might ever have cooked or eaten them before.
“Serve this on its own as a light lunch, or in tandem with an assortment of barbecue dishes. I would be very happy eating this with a very cold glass of beer, maybe sand between my toes… mariachi band optional.”
Ingredients:
(Serves 4) - 4 courgettes, diced - Vegetable or olive oil - 1–2tsp hot smoked paprika or chipotle chilli flakes - 1tsp ground cumin - 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced - 80–100g tortilla chips, broken up - 2 avocados, flesh cut into bite-size pieces - 100g feta cheese, crumbled - Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped - 1–2 green chillies, finely sliced (optional; remove the seeds to reduce heat, if you like) - 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve - Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/425°F/Gas 7 and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
Put the courgette in a bowl with a good measure of oil, half the paprika or chipotle and half the cumin. Season with salt and pepper, and mix until well coated. Spread evenly in a single layer on one of the prepared baking sheets and roast for about 10 minutes. Distribute the garlic in among the courgette and continue cooking for a further five minutes, until the courgettes are golden in places and tender throughout.
Mix a good measure of oil in a small bowl with the remaining spices. Spread the broken tortillas on the second baking sheet, pour over the spiced oil and turn through to coat evenly. Bake in the oven for about five to eight minutes, until toasted. Remove from the oven.
Scatter half the toasted tortillas over a large serving dish. Top with the cooked courgette and the avocado, then distribute the feta, coriander, remaining tortillas, and the sliced chilli (if using). Serve with the wedges of lime to squeeze at the table.
New Kitchen Basics by Claire Thomson, photography by Sam Folan, is published by Quadrille, priced £25.