Seasonal local food recipe No.286 – Hugh’s raw courgette and fennel with peanut dressing
This recipe is from my new book – River Cottage Light and Easy by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. It can be dished up as a light lunch or starter on its own or as a partner with some protein such as lentils, chickpeas, chicken or fish for something more substantial.
Serves 2, or 4 as a starter
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
For the dressing
2 Tbs no sugar added peanut butter
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g young small courgette
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs
A little extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil
1 Tbs sunflower or pumpkin seeds or a mix of the two (optional)
A small handful of basil or mint leaves
Method
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in a bowl, adding salt and pepper as needed, bearing in mind that the nut butter will add salt. Add 2 tablespoons water and whisk until you have a thick mixture, smooth except for any chunks of nut. It should be loose enough to fall off the spoon in thick ribbons – you can whisk in a little more cold water, if necessary, to reach this consistency.
Top and tail the courgettes, then use a veg peeler to shave them lengthways into wafer-thin ribbons. Put into a large bowl. Trim the fennel, removing any tough and fibrous outer layers, saving a few of the fronds if there are any. Slice the fennel, top to bottom, as thinly as you can, and add to the courgettes.
Trickle a little oil over the veg, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss lightly. Scatter the seeds, if using, over the veg and spoon on the dressing. Finish with roughly torn basil or mint leaves and fennel fronds if you have them, then serve.
