Courgette Salad & Baba Ghanoush

December 4, 2001

Ever since he returned from London in April, son Ben has been asking when summer will arrive. After two winters in a row he has been eagerly looking forward to hot days in the sun. With local temperatures in the low 30s Celsius the past weekend, I think he is at last satisfied.

We have had a series of suntanned chaps swarming over our yard for a few days, turning a damp unexciting corner of our small section into a smart paved area with a raised garden and peripheral seating.

We've sat inside each night and marvelled at how they have pulled out the old plants, saving the roses and lemon tree for replanting, scraped off the lawn (read hydrocotl infestation), tamped down a loose metal base and slapped down the pavers, including a perfect circular design in the centre. Timber framing for a pergola and trellis screens has popped up and two sides of the new patio are edged with a brick wall which will form the base for seating, as well as front the raised garden.

Add to that a new path linking to another existing patio, and a mowing strip round the rest of the garden and suddenly the section is starting to look quite tidy and manageable.

I have huge respect for these landscapers and landscape architects who can suddenly transform a haphazard collection of areas into smart "garden rooms".

This progress has been eagerly watched by the sons who are picturing themselves hosting barbecues for their friends in the new yard. As the younger one celebrates his 21st birthday a few days before Christmas, things are looking promising.

Spurred on by the warm weather, I decided we would have some cold smoked chicken and a couple of simple salad dishes the other night. And then I found myself toiling away in a 32 degree kitchen preparing my "light summer meal". However, the results were worth it, specially as an extra face appeared at the door when the sons arrived home and there was no problem setting another place.

The market was full of fresh summer produce when I called earlier in the day, so I had plenty to work on. The tomatoes are dropping in price and are becoming tastier by the day. I notice a lot of them are being picked with their calyx still on, which I think helps retain the flavour. I like to keep my tomatoes in a basket on the bench, along with the avocados and a few lemons. If I include a few not-quite-ripe ones when I'm buying them, the tomatoes gradually ripen fully during the week.

We also had some sliced avocado, simply dressed with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper, and pickled mushrooms. A colleague had shared one of his favourite beetroot recipes in the newspaper that morning - cooked beetroot cut in thick slices, sprinkled with olive oil and a balsamic vinaigrette. (I further sprinkled mine with chopped sage). He recommended piling the beetroot on bread so I sliced some sourdough bread, sprayed it with olive oil and gave it about 10 minutes in a hot oven. This was also a good basis for the baba ghanoush. (I've given the recipe for this previously , but for convenience I will give another version here.)

We might also have had some fresh asparagus spears but I answered the phone in another room and forgot them and they were well and truly overcooked by the time The Spouse investigated what was happening in the kitchen.

The final dish was for a courgette salad, based on a recipe from one of Robert Carrier's early cookbooks. This is my version.

Courgette Salad

4 courgettes (zucchini)
2 medium tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
salt and pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil

Trim the stalk ends and then blanch the courgettes in boiling water for approximately five minutes. Remove from the heat and refresh in cold water. When cool enough to handle, slice lengthwise and, with a teaspoon, scoop out the pulp in the cente and discard.

Finely chop the tomatoes and mix with the remaining ingredients. Spoon into the courgette halves. Serve at room temperature.

Baba Ghanoush

1 medium eggplant
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
3 tablespoons plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper
chilli powder

Preheat the oven to 200C. Prick the eggplant in one or two places (to prevent it from exploding, which can be quite spectacular - and messy). Place in a dish in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until soft. When it is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin. It should come off quite easily - start it by pushing a sharp knife just under the skin and pull the skin off in strips. Cut off the stalk end.

Place everything but the chilli powder in a blender. Whizz till smooth then turn out into a serving bowl and sprinkle with a little chilli powder.