Drunken Courgettes

I am saying these courgettes are drunk but, really, you can barely taste the wine in them. You need to use a nice dry white of your choice and not be apologetic for it. Wine will quickly evaporate leaving you with courgettes that are sweet and tarty at the same time. Grill some Halloumi cheese as well and serve with it.



5 large courgettes
150ml dry white wine
200ml white wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped

Chop the courgettes width-wise and place them in a heavy-based saucepan on high heat. Immediately add the wine and vinegar. Stir well, now add the teaspoon of sugar, the salt and the fresh mint. Cook on high for a scant five minutes, then lower the heat to medium.

You need to keep an eye on these because wine and vinegar evaporate much more quickly than vegetable stock or tomato sauce. When this happens, add some hot water and have a taste check; you may need a little more salt at this stage because courgettes are sweet and bland at the best of times. Continue cooking until all the water has been absorbed and the courgettes are tender and still retain their shape.

Serve with grilled Halloumi cheese, also minty, and with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. You really need this to counter-balance the sweet-and-sour provided by the courgettes themselves and the vinegar. These keep extremely well for a couple of days and become more tasty as they continue to marinade.