Za’atar courgette with Muhammara and Dukkah

Here at Wycombe chefs table we are looking at minimising the work and enable you to cook amazing dishes with fewer steps. There is nothing more satisfying than crating meal for the loved one, such of joy. All our recipes are simply to be used as a guideline; we strongly suggest you to follow your creative inner chef

 Ingredients:

 Za’atar Roasted courgette 

2 large courgette

1 clove garlic

5 gr Za’atar mix

20ml olive oil

Salt & black peppercorn to taste 

Muhammara

340gr roasted red pepper jar

40gr roasted walnuts

40 gr sliced bread edges off

30 ml olive plus extra for drizzle

2 table spoon pomegranate molasses

½ tsp rose harissa rub

1 lemon juice plus zest

1 clove of garlic grated (microplane)

Salt & black peppercorn to taste

 Topping:

20gr Dukkah 

25g Feta cheese

5 gr chopped coriander 

 Za’atar Roasted courgette Method:

Wash the courgette and cut in quarters lengthwise, removing some of the seeds, depending on how big your courgette are, you want to cut the strip by 2 or 3 so you end up with 3 inches chunks.

Place a sautéed pan on a medium high heat, add a fillet of olive oil, pan-fried the courgette trying to give them a little colour, then set a side. In a bowl add the grated garlic, olive oil, za’atar mix, salt and cracked black peppercorn along with pan-fried courgettes, coat them well and place them in the oven on a tray at 180C* for 6/7 minutes. The reason that we pan-fry the courgettes is that we want to have a nice colour on them without overcooking them in the oven and if we were to do them in the pan, we will burn the za’atar.

Muhammara method:

Muhammara is a popular dip served in the Arabic world, sweet and smoky with a slight kick and a rich nuttiness from the walnuts. A litle similar to the Spanish romesco that is made with almonds and sweet Jerez vinegar instead of molasses. 

On a sunny day we usually flame the peppers on the BBQ but this current weather here we are going down the route of the flamed roasted peppers in jars. Nothing wrong with taking the easy way, this will allow us to spend a little more time enjoying that glass of wine while cooking.

Dukkah is originally from Egypt and means “to punch/ to pound” combination of spice, nuts and seeds roasted and pounded together. Recipe has travelled through the middle east and northern Africa, here is my mother in law recipe that we perfected through the years.  

Plating:

Place 2 or 3 spoons of muhammara at the centre of the plate, spreading lightly in to a circle, ad the courgette batons over the top, sprinkle with Dukkah, little chopped coriander and drizzle with left over olive oil from the courgette