Sometimes vegetables can get boring. Not because vegetables are boring, but because we get into a mind set of only doing vegetables in a certain way, which means that we don’t try new styles of cooking or new flavour combinations. I’m always looking for new ways to cook my veggies. I want to eat more vegetables and less meat. I want to find exciting ways to eat vegetables that are easy, and delicious.

This is why I invested in a couple of vegan and vegetarian cookbooks. I don’t want fake meat to replace my meat-intake. I will still eat meat, but I also am not a fan of these meat replacements. I understand why they have been created, and I understand that there are people who love them and need them in an effort to cut down on their meat consumption. But, I am not one of those people. I’d rather have a vegetarian burger made out of vegetables and legumes, than one that is pretending to be meat.

So, I look for ways to cook my veggies that work great as sides to whatever else I am eating, or that could become a main if added to some pasta or rice.

This dish, today, is a great side dish and has been touted as a a great vegetable dish for any dinner party. It would also be delicious with a bowl of fresh pasta. Essentially, the herbs that are being cooked with the courgettes are similar to that of a pesto – but nowhere near as oily and without cheese.

Enough chatting, on with the recipe.

Ingredients

2 large courgettes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 spring onions (discard the roots and any wilting green leaves)
12 mint leaves
10 basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt
pepper

1. Slice the courgettes into 1cm thick rounds.
2. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large pan, over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add half of the courgettes and cook for 15 minutes, flipping half way. You want the courgettes to be golden brown on both sides.
3. Remove the courgettes from the pan. Add the remaining oil to the pan, and saute the other half of the courgettes for the same amount of time.
4. While the courgette is cooking, place the basil, mint, spring onions and garlic onto a chopping board. Chop them all together, so that they come together to form a loose pesto of sorts (see the photo above if you need an idea).
5. When the courgette is done, add the first batch back into the pan along with the mint and garlic mixture. Add the vinegar and mix well.
6. Season with salt and pepper, then add the pine nuts. Cook for a few more minutes, then remove from the pan and serve.