Author of this recipe
Fill your kitchen with the tantalising aroma of baked vegetables with this mouth-watering, but super simple, zucchini (courgette) and tomato salad. Roasting vegetables is one of the easiest ways to prepare a healthy and hearty meal. This cooking technique really brings out the natural sweetness in vegetables and what's better than enjoying the crispy caramelised edges of zucchini alongisde a pop of deliciously warm tomato?
For another hit of flavour, and to contrast with the sweetness of the vegetables, we use fresh thyme. Thyme belongs to the mint family and is slightly bitter and peppery. You can remove the leaves from the stem by pulling the stem through your fingers or a fork, or scraping the stem with the back of a knife.
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Thinly slice the zucchini. Dice half of the tomatoes; leave the rest on the vine.
- Grease a baking dish with oil and layer the zucchini thinly over the bottom. Scatter the tomato on top, drizzle with the rest of the oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the tomatoes still on the vine plus two sprigs of thyme in the dish and heat in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Take the zucchini out of the oven; remove the sprigs of thyme and sprinkle the dish with the fresh thyme leaves, the onion rings and grated curls of Parmesan.
This dish can be served hot or cold.
Tips from the author
Tip: Place the onion rings in ice water, drain and pat dry, to get rid of the sharp flavour.