Seasonal recipe No 9 – Grilled courgette, tomato and bean salad with basil sauce

There are plenty of tomatoes and courgettes in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week.  This delicious salad is a firm favourite in my household, especially when we have grown lots of basil.  It comes from Jane Baxter at the Riverford Organics field kitchen.  

Preparation Time: Overnight
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients
200g dried cannellini or haricot beans, soaked overnight
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 courgettes, cut into ribbons 5mm thick
a small punnet of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
for the dressing:
1 bunch of basil leaves
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
a pinch of salt
100ml olive oil

Method
1. Put the drained beans in a large pan, cover with fresh water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or so, until tender. Drain, season to taste and dress with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Toss the courgettes with the remaining olive oil and grill on a ridged griddle pan (or under a hot grill) until tender and lightly charred.
3. For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and whiz until smooth.
4. Gently mix the beans, tomatoes and courgettes together in a large bowl and add enough basil dressing to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Notes
If you cheat and use tinned beans which have been rinsed and drained, this salad can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Nigel Slater makes a similar Courgette, tomato and ricotta bake, which also uses a generous amount of basil.  The first time I made this dish I had a “senior” moment and used mozzarella cheese instead of ricotta.  It was still very tasty!  He has lots of other ideas on how to use up a bumper crop of courgettes.

Click here to see all the recipes that Camel CSA members have recommended so far.

In our share this week

Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s vegetable boxes contain a fantastic selection this week.

• Small boxes have an assortment of:
  *potatoes (Camel CSA)  
  *onions (Camel CSA)
  *Swiss chard (Camel CSA)
  *courgettes (Mark Norman / Bokelly, St Kew)
  *carrots (Jeremy Brown)
  *beans (Bokelly, St Kew)
  *small salad bag (Jane Mellowship)
  & tomatoes (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)

• Standard boxes are filled with the same as above, but not the Swiss chard.  They also have:
  *large salad bag instead of small (Jane)
  plus
  *peppers (Jeremy / Jane)
  *parsley (Jeremy)
  & baby leeks (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
  AND some plums donated by Mark Norman’s Dad, who lives in Devon!* = grown to organic principles

Once again, the boxes contain freshly-picked vegetables from Camel Community Agriculture’s own plot at St Kew Highway plus high-quality produce from our three expert growers and an outside supplier.

As the label of our mixed salad bag explains:

This mixed salad has been picked this morning from Carruan Farm’s veg plot managed and grown chemically free by Gav and Jane Mellowship… 
… This bag represents a main ethos of community supported agriculture.  It is supporting an existing agricultural business in the local community by creating a new market and securing it.  We’re sharing the risks and benefits in a close working relationship. 

See Recipe No 9 – Grilled courgette, tomato and bean salad with basil sauce