Barbecued Courgette and Sweetcorn Salad with Basil Yoghurt Dressing
Here's a salad that celebrates our summer produce favourites.
Kelly GibneyChef
- 4-6 servings
- Easy
Caption:Layering the dressing on the bottom of the platter gives this dish a restaurant-style feel.Photo credit:Kelly Gibney
This salad is perfect for weeknights, barbecues or your festive table. The punchy yoghurt dressing is generously layered on the bottom of the platter the vegetables are piled onto. It’s a very easy way to plate a salad and have everyone be able to access the accompanying sauce and also gives a slightly more restaurant-feel to the dish.
When asparagus are no longer in season, use green beans that you very quickly blanch in the same method as the asparagus.
Take care to get a nice char on the courgette without overcooking it. It will continue to soften after you take it off the barbecue.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch thin asparagus, trimmed
- 4 medium courgettes
- 1 sweetcorn cob, husk removed
- Olive oil, for barbecuing vegetables
- 1 cup Greek-style yoghurt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Large handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- Cracked black pepper to season
- Toasted pumpkin seeds (to garnish)
- Additional fresh basil leaves (to garnish)
Instructions
- Place the asparagus in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 1 minute, before draining and running under cold water to halt cooking and retain the bright green colour. Cut each piece in half. Set aside until needed.
- Trim the ends from the courgettes and cut each into 4 long strips.
- Drizzle the courgette slices and the corn cob with olive oil, and season well with salt and cracked pepper.
- Heat the barbecue. Place all the vegetables on the grill plate. Cook the corn until it’s lightly charred on each side. The courgette is ready when you have nice dark grill marks but there is still a little firmness. Cut each courgette slices into three pieces and use a sharp knife to cut downwards from the bottom of the corn cob to remove all the kernels.
- Combine the yoghurt in a bowl, along with the garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped basil. Stir through the salt and a good seasoning of cracked pepper.
- To plate the salad: swirl the yoghurt over the bottom of a platter. Pile the vegetable pieces on top of the yoghurt (leaving an inch of yoghurt visible around the edge of the plate). It can be look great to do this in layers of each vegetable type (half of the asparagus, topped with half of the corn and then half of the courgette). Repeat this until you’ve used all the vegetables. Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds, additional fresh basil and a grind of cracked pepper.
