Char grilled courgettes

So there I was minding my own business, and suddenly like a voodoo doll being pricked by a needle I felt an all mighty sting in the back of my right leg. Oooh that’s strange I thought rubbing it gently where the pain penetrated. For a few minutes, I was distracted by D’s ranting and raving at something not working properly.

Then I was again reminded of this sharp pain, when I felt a throbbing in the back of my leg that I just had to investigate it further. I sat down to take a peek at the back of my leg, rubbing it as it twinged. As I sat down, I noted a wasp lying on the carpet, its little scrawny legs up in the air softly kicking and clinging on for dear life. It finally hit me that I had been stung. So like an angry and vengeful child, did I stomp on the insect that harmed me for no reason, no I did not. I lifted it up with the edge of a newspaper and dropped it out from the flat window letting it fend for itself. And as for my sting, ooh its sore… really sore.
I often char grill courgettes this way then lightly cover it with a zingy dressing, the only difference with this and that courgette recipe it that I the courgettes are sliced wafer thin on my mandolin ( a birthday present from D a few years ago). It is such a simple dish to make and one that injects so much flavour into what is really a bland vegetable. I often serve these wafer think courgette strips as an antipasto or stirred through some pasta. In fact last year I griddled large amounts of green and yellow courgettes and put them into a jar topped with olive oil, unfortunately they did not keep well and were promptly discarded. Anyway, this time I decided to cut the courgette into wedges.

For this recipe you will need one of those ridged grill pans for cooking the courgette.
Char grilled courgette wedges with chilli and lemon
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 courgettes, ends trimmed and cut into diagonal slices, about 2cm wide
1 – 2 tablespoon olive oil
1 fresh red chilli, or ½ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
Juice of ½ lemon
Good handful of mint, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Toss the courgette wedges into a bowl with olive oil, chilli, salt and pepper.
Heat the grill pan until smoking hot and cook the courgettes in batches, about 3 – 4 minutes on each side.. They should be tender but with a crunch to them in the middle. Don’t be tempted to move the courgette while it is cooking or you won’t get the effective char grill marks. Add back to the bowl along with lemon juice and mint. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Serve at room temperature.