Grilled courgettes with yoghurt & saffron butter

Grilled courgettes with warm yoghurt and saffron butter

Main Vegetarian

Serves 2-4

Prep 10 min

Cook 30 min

Featured in

This recipe is inspired by kousa b’laban, a Levantine dish of stuffed baby marrow cooked in yoghurt. In this simplified version the yoghurt sauce and grilled courgettes are cooked separately, then served with a quick saffron butter to spoon on top.

There’s a bit of an art to cooking yoghurt without having it curdle; stabilisers such as cornflour and egg yolk tend to do the trick, as does cooking the yoghurt on a moderate heat, stirring continuously and gently warming through without boiling. The result: a silky-smooth and tangy sauce, great for these courgettes but also with other grilled veggies, fatty meats or even as a sauce to pasta.

Follow the full recipe

Ingredients

30g	unsalted butter
1⁄4 tsp	saffron threads, roughly crushed
4	small, pale green or regular courgettes, tops trimmed slightly and courgettes halved lengthways (600g)
2 1⁄2 tbsp	olive oil
1 tsp	cornflour
300g	Greek-style yoghurt
2	garlic cloves, crushed
1⁄2 tsp	dried mint
3⁄4 tsp	coriander seeds, toasted and roughly crushed with a pestle and mortar
1 1⁄2 tbsp	picked mint leaves
1⁄2	lemon
	salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to a high grill setting.
Put the butter and saffron into a small saucepan on a medium heat. When the butter has melted, set aside to infuse.
Place the courgettes on a parchment-lined baking tray and toss with 2 tablespoons of oil, 1⁄3 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Arrange them cut side up and grill for 15–20 minutes, until nicely charred and softened.
Towards the last 10 minutes of grilling time, make the sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornflour and 3 tablespoons of water until smooth, then add the yoghurt, garlic, dried mint, the remaining 1⁄2 tablespoon of oil and 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt. Whisk to combine, then transfer to a large, non-stick sauté pan on a medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly and warmed through. Do not let the sauce boil, or it will split.
Transfer the warm yoghurt sauce to a plate with a lip and top with the courgettes, grilled side up. Spoon over the saffron butter, then sprinkle with the coriander seeds and mint leaves. Squeeze over the lemon half and serve right away.