This is a very good recipe to have a go at if your growing courgettes this summer. You can double or triple the quantities and use the cooked herby courgettes in all sorts of other ways. They are fantastic stirred through freshy cooked pasta, with a fistful of grated parmesan. Wonderful piled on toast, topped with feta and mint and incredible served with roast chicken. Or try whizzing them up into a fragrant, comforting courgette dip.
Ingredients
For the flatbreads
500g (1lb 2oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
4 tbsp natural yoghurt
for the topping
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1.2kg (2lb 10oz) courgettes, sliced into 5mm (1⁄4in) rounds (plus any flowers they may have)
Juice and zest of a lemon
1 small handful of dill, chopped
1 small handful of mint, leaves picked and thinly ribboned
1 small handful of chives, chopped
150g (51⁄2oz) soft goat’s cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Make the flatbreads. Place the flour, salt, yeast, fennel seeds and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add the oil, yoghurt and 275ml of water and mix everything thoroughly until it forms a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until soft and smooth. (You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook for this part.) Shape the dough into a rough round and place in a lightly oiled bowl; cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for up to 24 hours.
When you’re ready to make the flatbreads, start the topping. Place a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add half the olive oil and when it’s hot add the garlic and sizzle for a few seconds, then add the courgettes. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the courgettes slowly over a gentle heat, stirring regularly, for about 25 minutes or so, until they break down but still retain a little of their shape. They should be soft without colouring too much and almost spoonable in texture.
Add the lemon zest, the chopped herbs and the lemon juice and give it a really good stir. Then season again to taste with plenty of salt and pepper.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, then cut it into
3 equal pieces. Form each piece into a nice neat round and leave to rest
for 20 minutes or so. When you’re ready to bake the flatbreads, roll out the pieces of dough. They want to be quite thin, but don’t worry if they’re not especially round, that doesn’t matter.
Set a large heavy pan over a high heat, or over the barbecue, and when it’s nice and hot lay the flat bread dough down in the pan. If the pans up to temperature the dough will start to bubble and smoke. After a minute or so flip the flat bread over and cook the second side. Remove the flat bread from the pan and trickle all over with your best olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Repeat this process with the remaining flat bread dough.
To bring it all together, divide the courgette mixture between the flat breads and spread it out. Crumble over the goat’s cheese and, if you have them, shred the courgette flowers and scatter these over the top too. Finish with some a few more chopped fresh herbs (I’ve used chives) and a good trickle of your best olive oil.
Recipe by Gill Meller
Video and Imagery by Matt Austin