INGREDIENTS
Dried olives
100 g kalamata olives, pitted
Caper and golden sultana dressing
50 g golden sultanas
1 English breakfast tea bag
1 ¾ tbsp salted capers
40 ml extra virgin olive oil
25 ml chardonnay vinegar
Bulgur wheat
200 g coarse bulgur wheat
230 ml vegetable stock or water
Blackened courgette
3 x medium courgette (600 g)
Neutral oil
½ tbsp sumac
½ tbsp mint, dried
½ tbsp salt flakes
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
To serve
1 ½ cups flat leaf parsley,
picked and chopped
½ cup mint, picked and chopped
Salt flakes, to taste
METHOD
Dried olives
1. Rinse the olives well and drain.
2. Place the olives on a baking tray in the oven on shelf position 2 and dehydrate on Conventional at 85°C for 5 hours, or until dried.
3. Slice into small rings.
Caper and golden sultana dressing
1. In a heatproof bowl, place the sultanas and tea bag and cover with boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes, drain and discard the tea bag.
2. Remove 1 ½ tbsp of sultanas and set aside to garnish the salad.
3. Rinse the capers and place in cold water for 20 minutes, changing the water
3 times over this period. Drain and set aside.
4. Place the remaining sultanas, capers, extra virgin olive oil and vinegar into a small blender and process until smooth.
Bulgur wheat
1. Place the bulgur wheat and stock into an unperforated steam container.
2. Place into the steam oven and Steam at 100°C for 9 minutes. Allow to cool.
Blackened courgette
1. Slice off a couple of millimetres from both ends of the courgette, leaving the shape and some of the stalk.
2. Rub lightly with the oil and place on a grilling and roasting insert into a universal tray, keeping space in-between each courgette.
3. Preheat the oven on Full Grill at 300°C.
4. Place the universal tray on shelf position 5 and set a timer for 10 minutes.
5. Turn the courgettes over and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the grilling and roasting insert.
7. Slice lengthwise down each courgette leaving the courgette attached at the bottom and spread open slightly.
8. In a small bowl, mix the sumac, mint and salt flakes together. Sprinkle a little over the exposed courgette flesh and grind over some black pepper.
9. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
To serve
1. In a large bowl, toss the bulgur wheat, parsley, mint, dried olives and 5 tbsp of the dressing. Add more dressing if needed and season to taste.
2. Place the bulgur wheat and herb salad on a serving platter. Lay the courgettes over the bulgur wheat and sprinkle the remaining sultanas on top.
3. Serve with remaining sumac and mint salt.
Hints and tips
• Use as little oil as you can on the courgettes to minimize any smoke.
• Fresh olives can be used instead of dehydrated olives if preferred.
• You can make your own dried mint in the oven by dehydrating on Conventional at 50°C for 2-4 hours, depending on the volume.
• If you have Drying function on your oven, the dehydrating time of the mint and olives can be reduced significantly.
• Coarse bulgur wheat is best for this dish, as it has a great texture to balance the soft courgette.
• Quinoa or Freekah can be used if you can’t source bulgur wheat.
• Bulgur (or sometimes spelled bulghur), is coarse or fine cracked wheat that has been cracked, cleaned, partially cooked and then ground into various sizes.