In the summer when vegetables grow in great quantities and are eaten at every meal, the Spanish solution to the necessary protein element of a meal is to add a fried egg. It is with that spirit that D created this lunch dish. Pablo gave us his first gift of courgettes from his back garden, his garden is more the size of a field and produces enough vegetables for his entire extended family. He gave us four courgettes, huge, far larger than would ever be sold in the UK. They look like mini-marrows but in fact are tender courgettes. We ate them deep-fried in a light tempura batter accompanied by fried eggs [for protein]. We cut the courgettes in two different ways – thin rounds, and thicker batons – we both preferred the thin round ones which were crispier. Serves 2
Half of a very large courgette, sliced into rounds 2mm thick, drained on kitchen paper
4 eggs
Sunflower oil for frying
For the tempura batter:-
4 tbsp plain flour
150ml chilled water
4 tbsp cornflour
1 egg yolk
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp baking powder
To make the batter, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until smooth. A whisk attachment for a hand-held blender works well.
Heat the oil in the deep-fry pan 10 190°C. Make sure the courgette slices are dry before adding to the pan. Fry in batches for 1 to 1 ½ minutes until pale golden, then place the cooked slices on a plate with kitchen paper to drain.
Meanwhile fry the eggs in a frying pan.
Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to serve. 5 to remember
la proteína – protein
el huevo frito – fried egg
cuatro – four
enorme – huge
tierno/a – tender