Seasonal local food recipe No.242 – Jamie’s smashed courgette paste
This is from Jamie Oliver’s The Return of the Naked Chef. I use it as a pasta sauce but it can also be used as a spread on toasted bread or as a ravioli filling if mixed with ricotta cheese.
Serves 6-8
Preparation time – 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes
Ingredients
olive oil
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1-2 small dried red chillies, crumbled
6-8 small courgettes roughly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful mint, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
Method
Put a couple of lugs of olive oil in a hot pan and fry the garlic and chillies for a couple of minutes. Throw in the courgettes and stir round to coat with the oil. Turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid. Give the pan a shake and a stir every 5 minutes for around 35 minutes, making sure the courgettes don’t catch on the bottom. Cooking with the lid on will ensure a bit of moisture in the pan. When the courgettes are really soft, with some chunky pieces and the rest almost pulped, remove from the heat and season to taste. Add the mint and lemon juice and serve as required. If using as a pasta sauce it is best to mix it with the cooked pasta before serving with grated parmesan cheese.
