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Summer Courgette Salad with Quick Pickled Shallots

This easy summer salad recipe makes the most of Britain's seasonal produce and proves that pickling is not just for the winter months. This recipe makes more quick pickled shallots than you will need for this dish, but the rest will keep well when covered in the fridge for up to a week - great on other salads and sandwiches!

5 minutes (plus 1 hour for pickling) prep, 5 minutes cook

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

120ml red wine vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

250ml water

4 echalion shallots, thinly sliced

2 yellow courgettes, trimmed

2 green courgettes, trimmed

75g pine nuts

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and pepper for seasoning

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 pack of rocket leaves

100g Parmesan, or a vegetarian alternative

Method

To make the quick pickled shallots: whisk the red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and water in a small bowl until the sugar and salt dissolve. Place the sliced echalions in a bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Slice all of the courgettes lengthways on a mandoline, or with a flat vegetable peeler, into strips about 3mm thick.

Place the strips in a colander over a bowl, season with a little salt and leave to stand for 8 minutes to extract the excess water. Pat dry on kitchen paper. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown.

To make the dressing, pour the lemon juice into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.

Pile up the courgettes on a serving platter or individual plates, evenly distributing the yellow and green vegetables and making sure you create some height. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and drizzle with half of the dressing. Add a layer of the rocket leaves and drizzle them with the rest of the dressing. Finish the dish with some of the pickled shallots and a scattering of Parmesan shavings