This is such a lovely summer dish, especially when the courgettes that start arriving in the supermarket are British. There is something about our warm soggy summer climate that works for courgettes – when eaten raw they taste creamy and sweet.
If you have a beautiful bottle of extra virgin olive oil and have been keeping it for a special eating occasion, now is the time to use it……liberally!
Mozzarella needs salt to bring out the flavour, but go easy as Parma ham is fairly salty.
Miraculous ingredients: British courgettes (in season during the summer), Buffalo mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil
Courgette, mozzarella and Parma ham salad
Ingredients
2 courgettes
200g Buffalo mozzarella
5 very thin slices of Parma ham
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10 Basil leaves, torn
Sea salt
Method
Wash, dry, top and tail the courgettes. Use a potato peeler to thinly peel the courgettes into ribbons. Arrange the ribbons on a platter.
Tear the buffalo mozzarella into bite size pieces and scatter over the courgette ribbons. Place torn pieces of Parma ham between the courgette and mozzarella. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and the torn basil leaves.
Eat with lots of fresh bread and wine.
Preparation time 10 minutes, 2 adult portions, 2 childrens portions