Hassleback Courgette

I first discovered the 'Hassleback' concept when I was in Sweden in 2010 and I have my Swedish Aunt Ia to thank for introducing me to the simplicity of swedish cooking. These special cutters were on sale in a supermarket and I thought they were for cutting 8 slices of cheese off a block at once....but, obviously, they were not! The idea of Hassleback potatoes has stuck with me for a while and when I eventually got around to making them, I was not disappointed.

If potatoes were so good, I figured that other veg should surely be experimented with.  Courgette is one vegetable I don't really jump up and down about. I find it a little bland sometimes and usually only use it to bulk up a pasta sauce of sneak vegetables into the kids. It works really well roasted though and like anything, when eaten with lots of garlic, its pretty good. So, I figured, "If Hassleback potatoes are an improvement on even the boiled Irish spud, then surely we could try it out on the lowly courgette.

First job was the garlic. I didn't have the 2 hours need to slow roast a bulb so I separated the cloves, left the skin on and put them in a dry pan on a very low heat. I covered them with a glass cover and every couple of minutes turned them so they wouldn't burn. I turned the heat off and left them for a further 5 mins in the warm pan while I mixed butter with some fresh thyme and rosemary. Then I peeled and smashed the garlic and squeezed it into the butter. I allowed the mix to melt in a pan and just come to a bubble before I turned off the heat.

So, the trick with Hassleback is to allow a thin line of uncut spine which means the vegetable will fan out as it cooks. To do this, I lay a chopstick down beside the courgette and the knife hit that every time instead of the chopping board. Once this was done, I lay the courgette on tinfoil and bent it to one side so all the layers opened up. This allowed the butter and garlic mix to fall between the layers as I brushed it on generously.

I then sprinkled a pinch of himalayan sea salt and some cracked black pepper along the courgette and put it in the over wrapped in tinfoil for 40 mins at 180 degrees. Once it was done, I opened the foil and sprinkled the courgette with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese and put up the temperature to 200 degrees for a further 15 minutes to allow everything to crisp up.

Let me tell you, the smell of this alone in the kitchen has my stomach rumbling.
This dish would go wonderfully with a roast or as my crew had it this evening with baked hake.
If you do decide to make it - I would love if you would send me a picture on @fionasfitness diary or on twitter / instagram @westcorkfit.

And why not try this method with sweet potato, aubergine or whatever else takes your fancy - I'd love to hear how you get on!
Fi x