Stuffed courgette flowers

Serves 6

This does hinge on you being able to find courgette flowers, which are around for much of the summer – ring around a few grocers or butter up a friend with a vegetable patch. The stuffing, the dressing and the garnish can all be prepared a day ahead. Then on the day, you’ll just need to find 20 minutes or so to get the courgettes in order. If you can’t find courgette flowers, serve this as a sort of tagliatelle, tossing the courgette ribbons with goat’s cheese, olives, breadcrumbs and the dressing.

For the stuffing

— 2 tbsp olive oil

— 1 onion, finely chopped

— 1 garlic clove, crushed to

a paste

— 1 tsp thyme leaves,

finely chopped

— 300g soft goat’s cheese

— a handful of parsley,

finely chopped

— zest of 1 lemon

For the dressing

— 1 tsp Dijon mustard

— 2 tsp white-wine vinegar — 4 tsp olive oil

For the courgette flowers

— a good handful of fresh breadcrumbs

— a handful of black olives

— 6 courgette flowers, still attached to small courgettes, if possible

— 3 medium courgettes

— juice of 1 lemon

— edible flowers or microherbs (optional)

Up to a day ahead

To make the stuffing, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and gently cook the onion with the garlic and thyme until softened. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cool.

Beat the onion mixture into the goat’s cheese, along with the parsley and lemon zest, for a minute or two, until light and fluffy. Taste for seasoning, then cover and chill.

To make the dressing, mix the mustard, vinegar and oil together. Season with salt and pepper to taste and store in the fridge.

Toast the breadcrumbs in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until golden. Add a pinch of salt and set aside.

Pit the olives by squashing them with the flat of a knife and removing the stones. Roughly chop and set aside.

Up to 2 hours ahead

Wash the courgette flowers and check for any critters, then pat dry. Carefully stuff each flower with a spoonful of the goat’s cheese mixture. Cover and chill.

With a potato peeler, shave the courgettes into ribbons, then toss with lemon juice and pepper. Cover and set aside.

15 minutes ahead

Taking care not to spill the stuffing, wrap a few courgette ribbons around the courgettes with the stuffed flowers, so as to mimic a sleeve, and pop on serving plates.

Dinner time

Scatter over the toasted breadcrumbs, olives and a few herbs or flowers, if you like. Finish with the dressing and serve.

Any leftover stuffing and courgettes will make a delicious summer tart. Top with rolled puff pastry and bake until golden.