Sweet and sour courgettes

Difficulty:  Time:

INGREDIENTS (x 4 persons)

• - 2 long courgettes
• - 2 garlic cloves
• - 3 anchovies in oil
• - 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• - 1 tablespoon raisins
• - 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• - 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• - 1 handful of fresh thyme leaves

WHAT TO DO:

• 1. Start by roughly chopping the courgettes in medium size dices. If the pieces are small, they tend to mash very easily and become a cream.
• 2. In a frying pan, put some olive oil and stew the garlic cloves until slightly brown. Add the anchovies; make them ‘melt’ at low heat. Toss the courgettes with the raisins and the pine nuts. Let this mix soften for a few minutes, then add the white wine vinegar and increase the heat to dry up the vinegar. Then add the sugar, a pinch of salt and complete the cooking of the vegetables until they are soft enough. This is best achieved by covering the pan with a lid and stirring the mix from time to time.
• 3. Serve the dish warm with a generous portion of fresh thyme.

TIPS & TRICKS:

• - Be careful of not making the dish too salty — the anchovies already do this for the dish.
• - If the courgettes are getting too dry while cooking, add some vegetable stock or hot water. Please add some little by little to avoid making the dish a ‘soup’!
• - This is a very southern Italian dish and is nicely served with grilled meat of strong cheeses like Pecorino or Cacio cheese.