Spiraliser

The project could be going better. These are just a few of the ones that got away, the elephants in the room which I can't bear to acknowledge, without dissimulation, the marrows.

Today I decided to attack the problem with sharp blades. You'll see a lot of courgette noodles or spaghetti on the internets. They are the darling of raw foodies, dieters and those utterly weird people pursuing the paleo diet. How anyone could imagine that hunter gatherers had time to turn their veg into shreds confuses me but I don't have to worry about that because I am of the modern age and the modern age has spiralisers.

Even so, I have a bit of a problem with raw courgette - there's something about them that my insides just don't like and it's rare to find a recipe that will allow me to eat them with equanimity. So I chose a sauce that would, like the lime juice on ceviche, provide a gentle modification to them similar to cooking.



A single eight incher (that's about 20cm) if you'll pardon the expression was enough for the two of us. If you don't have a spiraliser you're probably stuffed for this recipe but desperation and a sharp peeler might do the business adequately.

The sauce is a very loose interpretation of a saté sauce, made with peanut butter, tomato passata and a little chilli oil, ginger and garlic but worked well to mask the courgette flavour. On the other hand my companion, the erstwhile Mr. Stripey, claimed to quite like the subtle and complex flavours of the raw vegetable although it didn't stop him finishing the sauce with a spoon.



Serve with bread and a fizzy wine for the full Normandy experience. I'd do it again but not soon.

For:
1 20cm courgette, spiralised or shredded finely

Sauce:
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1 tsp grated ginger
1 small clove of garlic, crushed finely
1 tbs. wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
Splash of toasted sesame oil
Smaller splash of chilli oil (or to taste)
100g good passata
Salt as needed.

Mix everything for the sauce except passata and salt together until it is smooth, then add tomatoes, mix well and salt to taste.

Combine sauce and courgettes at the table or the courgette will release moisture and make the sauce too wet.