Courgette Rolls and Tomato Bruschetta

It’s a little like going into an old garden. Somewhere secret where you haven’t been in a long time. Somewhere that you’ve been pushing to the back of your mind for a while. Little pieces of guilt tripping out from time to time. And then, once in there, it’s not so bad. A little unkempt. Few visitors in the preceding months (years?) but not so bad after all.

            So here I am. I’ve no intention of resurrecting the blog in full – I think I’ve mused enough along those lines and Wimpy Writer has my main attention now. And poetry. And my novel. And short stories. But I think it would be good to drop in once a month. Tend the weeds and post about the food that’s really taken my fancy that month. And hopefully hear from my readers too.

            This last month I’ve been quite heavily into nibbles. I like to drink a pre-dinner glass of gin on a Saturday and a Sunday (it quenches the thirst and reminds me that it’s weekend – a little different from the rest of the week) but I’m rather influenced by our friends across the Channel and find it rude to drink without a nibble. But what to nibble? Home-baked flatbreads and homemade hummus (or any hummus) are good but they fill you up. A bowl of crisps is great but they really do fill you up and you always eat too much and that advert with the guy drinking a bottle of cooking oil hovers somewhere in the back of my head. Almonds quickly fried in dash of oil and then sprinkled with salt and pepper are very good.

            But these next two recipes take nibbles to the next level, somewhere a bit less than a starter but definitely worth sitting at the table and lingering over.

Courgette Rolls

Courgette (half per two people)

Pine nuts (to taste but at least a tablespoon per person)

Ricotta cheese (half a tub per two people)

Fresh basil leaves

1 x lemon

Sea salt and black pepper

Olive oil

Oil a baking tray and sprinkle with a little sea salt.

Using a wide bladed vegetable peeler take thin strips of courgette (not too thin, they don’t need to be see-through). Lay these strips on the oiled tray. Drizzle the tops with oil and use a pastry brush to coat the strips, sprinkling with a little more sea salt and black pepper. Leave for twenty minutes.

Meanwhile toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan. Allow to cool.

Stir the ricotta with a spoon, adding lemon juice, torn basil, sea salt and pepper and finally the toasted pine nuts (you need to taste this step and just stop adding when it suits your palette).

Once the twenty minutes has passed you can now start to assemble. Place a generous teaspoon of the ricotta mix at the end of each strip and then roll. The rolls will stand nicely on a serving plate together – butting them up against each other to prevent unrolling.

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar just before serving.

Tomato Bruschetta

Ripe tomatoes

Fresh basil leaves

Black olives (stoned and chopped into small pieces)

Olive oil

Garlic Clove

Sea salt

Baguette (an old one that’s good for little else is fine)

This is my take on bruschetta but I find it’s much more civilised to serve the tomato in a dish and let everyone help themselves.

Sprinkle a little sea salt on a chopping board and place the garlic clove on top. Bash with the flat of a knife and then chop whilst rolling in the salt (if you want to be healthier omit the salt but I find it helps to draw out the oils and gives a richer garlicky taste to the finished dish).

Chop some ripe tomatoes into fine cubes (most chefs say deseed but I think life’s too short). Add these to your serving dish along with your garlic and copious glugs of olive oil. Add torn basil and the olives to taste. Stir this all up and check again for consistency/taste. It’s a good idea to make this an hour or two ahead to really let the flavours combine.

Serve with old baguette cut into slices and fried in olive oil.