Salad Days #3: Courgette ‘Spaghetti’ Salad with Anchovies
As I write this the balcony door is thrown open and the sounds of Irish jig music are pouring in from the ‘Irish Festival’ happening in the park opposite our flat. Although the day has been a mix of sunny showers and heavy downpours, the festival goers party on. I love their enthusiasm. They are celebrating despite the weather and we continue to scoff down yummy summer salads.
These spaghetti-like courgette strands have been my little obsession for a few weeks now. I originally wanted to use them in place of pasta and tried making a fishy, puttanesca-like sauce to bind them together. I can honestly say, it didn’t work. Pasta is pasta and that is the end of it. It felt like the courgettes were trying to replace something and failing rather than shining as the star of the dish. In this salad however, they work really well – giving body to what is basically a deconstructed salsa verde – anchovies, herbs, capers, gherkins and a mustard-lemon dressing.
Salsa verde is my sauce of choice for topping a fat, ultra-rare steak and this makes a nice variation, something a bit more substantial without adding carbs. The courgettes are crispy and fresh, binding everything nicely – just begging you to twirl big forkfuls and slurp up those green strands, dressing splashing all over your chin. Just make sure to get lovely, silvery soft anchovy fillets, not the brown, extremely salty kind you get in tins – they won’t work in this salad. So there we go, crunchy veg, tangy gherkin and caper, soft anchovy fillets and vibrant herbs – perfect with any grilled meats or perhaps roast chicken. Oooh, roast chicken….
Courgette ‘Spaghetti’ Salad with Anchovies
This is strong tasting salad – only a small portion required for a taste bud frenzy!
2 largeish courgettes, sliced into thin strips (I have a julienne peeler, you could either, do it by hand, in a blender if you have the attachment, or just pare thin strips lengthways with a vegetable peeler).
1 small handful capers
1 small handful cornichons (baby gherkins), sliced
1 small handful mint leaves, finely shredded, small ones left whole
1 small handful parsley leaves, picked and left whole
10 anchovy fillets (not the brown, salty kind)
For the dressing
1 clove garlic
Sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon wholegrain mustard
Juice of 1 small lemon
Black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
- To make the dressing, crush the garlic with the salt (I use a pestle and mortar). Add the mustard and black pepper and stir. Add the lemon juice, stir again. Finally, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and whisk to emulsify.
- Mix all the salad ingredients together and add the dressing to taste.
Category: Blogiversary!, Fish, Gluten-free, Healthy, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegetables 19 comments »
July 7th, 2008 at 8:04 am
It sounds like you’re using the Spanish anchovies (less salty) and us Greeks have salt-cured ones that are a delight.
I too dig the zuchhini spaghetti, nice twist to present to someone.
July 7th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
A deconstructed salsa verde? I didn’t get that, maybe because my idea of salsa verde is something completely different? Anyway, the salad looks really good!
July 7th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
This looks gorgeous – summery, and with all my favourite ingredients (anchovies, capers, cornichons)!
July 7th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
This one’s a real winner Helen..love the whole concept here. And yes, pasta is pasta! Who were those “South Beach” dieters trying to kid?
July 7th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
This is THE PERFECT dish for summer. You totally nailed it, Helen!
July 7th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
This looks amazing – I love what you’ve done with the spaghetti. It looks nice, light, and not too complex for a summer weeknight!
July 7th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
What an interesting salad! Reading about it made me hungry.
Greetings,
Tiina
July 7th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Summer city. Needs to be eaten outside.
The courgette strands are nice salted then mixed with orange zest and lemon oil as an accompaniment to fish. Can be warm or cold.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:18 am
What a beautiful vibrant salad! I’m intrigued by the squash “spaghetti.”
July 8th, 2008 at 1:44 am
I’ve been thinking about experimenting with anchovies. I think this salas would be good with Spanish boquerones.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:11 am
Am loving the salad series Helen and this is the best so far. Big, fat flavours. Yum. And happy birthday to Food Stories. Well done on your excellent, excellent blog.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Thanks all!
Ben – what do you put in your salsa verde? Obviously, I don’t usually put courgettes in but apart from that…
James – thanks for the tip!
Kathryn- thank you for the birthday wishes.
July 8th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I nearly made some courgette spaghetti last night! At the last miniute I opeted for soup instead, didn’t even stop to photograph it, I was so hungry.
This looks really great.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
WOW!! What a great idea for a summer salad. It’s on the list for the upcoming weekend.
Thanks for sharing.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
This recipe looks amazing. I’m going to try it this weekend!
You might be interested in my website. There are some incredible recipes.
Thanks for the idea!
Kate
http://www.JustOnePlate.com
July 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Oooooooh….
You had me at “courgette ‘spaghetti’”… and “anchovies”… and “capers”… and “gherkins”….
July 10th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I love how your mind works to get to your recipes — this salad is my favorite of the lot!
July 25th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
OMG that looks good!! I am SO bookmarking this to make while the warm weather holds.
Jeannes last blog post..Deconstructed cherry pavlova "shots"
July 28th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Sadly, the salad caused my wife’s gout to act up.