Roasted courgette and apple salad with oranges
The courgette is a popular summer vegetable in Morocco and, as it marries well with fresh herbs and garlic, it appears frequently in salads and dips as well as in vegetable and meat tagines. Served as a starter or as an accompaniment to a meat and poultry main dish, this salad is delightfully refreshing.INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium courgettes, trimmed, cut in half crossways and sliced lengthways
- 1 green apple, cored, cut in half lengthways and sliced crossways
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon runny honey
- 2 sweet oranges, peeled with pith removed
- the rind of ½ preserved lemon, finely shredded
- leaves from a small bunch of fresh mint, shredded
- sea salt
Serves 4–6
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.
- Put the sliced courgette and apple in an ovenproof dish and spoon over the oil. Cook in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour over the lemon juice and honey. Return them to the oven for a further 10 minutes, until they have softened and are slightly golden. Leave them to cool in the dish.
- Prepare the oranges on a plate to catch the juice. Slice them thinly into neat circles, remove any pips and arrange them on a serving dish. Spoon the roasted courgette and apple on top of the oranges. Stir the orange juice that you have caught on the plate into the roasting juices in the baking dish and season with a little salt. Drizzle the juice over the salad and scatter the preserved lemon and mint over the top. Serve chilled or at room temperature.