Courgette-me-not... again!

COURGETTE SPAGHETTI WITH ARRABIATA SAUCE

I got the idea for this recipe recently when I had a flashback to my days at chef school... One of the first canapé's we made was cucumber "spaghetti" topped with smoked salmon and a hollandaise sauce. A zester is the trick to making long, thin strands but if you'd prefer tagliatelle then a vegetable peeler and a sharp knife should do the trick.

 Serves 4


1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 small red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1T tomato paste
2 x 400g cans whole peeled tomatoes
2t white balsamic vinegar
4 large courgettes
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2T chopped black olives
1T caperberries
parmesan shavings
roasted vine tomatoes, for garnish


Sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add chillies and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in vinegar. Make the courgette spaghetti by running a citrus zester along the length of the courgettes. Blanch briefly in boiling salted water and dress with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Top with the arrabiata sauce and garnish with the olives, caperberries, parmesan shavings and roasted vine tomatoes.