I got inspiration for this dish from a meal I ate recently at St Clair Vineyard Kitchen and the chef prepared seasonal garden vegetables with carrot puree and buckwheat.
If you want to showcase summer produce, this is the perfect dish. It makes for a very attractive and satisfying first course or you could serve this for a light luncheon with a cake for after.
INGREDIENTS
4 medium zucchini (150 g each) cut in half lengthways
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
15 ripe cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 carrots (300g), peeled and diced
2 x 400g tin of chick peas
1 red chilli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped roughly
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons tahini
4 radish, finely sliced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup pitted green olives, roughly halved
100g almonds, toasted
Salt to taste
12 large mint leaves, finely sliced
METHOD
Heat the griddle plate on medium-high heat. Score a diamond pattern on the flesh part of each cut zucchini piece. Brush the zucchini with olive oil and salt.
Once the plate is hot, place zucchini, flesh side down, for around 4 minutes. Rotate and cook until tender and charred.
Whilst the zucchini is grilling, place the carrots into a microwave safe container, add about 50ml of water, cover and cook until tender. Drain, reserve the water and cool.
Strain and rinse the chick peas well. Reserve half for the salad and use one half for the hummus.
To the bowl of a food processor, add the cooked carrots, garlic, chilli, cumin seeds, salt, tahini, a tablespoon of olive oil and half the chick peas. Blitz until smooth and velvety. Add the reserved carrot water as needed to get the right consistency.
In a small bowl, combine the sherry vinegar with the sugar, 1 tablespoon water, salt and pepper. Mix in the sliced radish and allow to pickle for 15-20 minutes.
Once the zucchinis are cooked, place onto a chopping board and roughly chop at an angle into 5cm pieces.
Strain the pickled radishes, reserving the pickling liquid.
In a mixing bowl, place the tomatoes, grilled zucchinis, half the chickpeas, olives, almonds and the reserved pickling liquid. Using your hands, toss together until evenly mixed.
On a serving plate, spread out the carrot hummus, scatter over the other half of chickpeas before topping with the grilled zucchini mix. Arrange a few of the pickled radish slices. Sprinkle the mint and serve immediately.
Serves 4