This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Plenty. The combination of grilled zucchini, hazelnuts and Parmesan is really lovely. I don’t have purple basil in my herb garden, so I simply substituted with some mixed green lettuce.

Ingredients

1/3 cup shelled hazelnuts
7 small zucchini (1¾ lbs in total)
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. hazelnut oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1¼ cups mixed green and purple basil leaves
3 oz Parmesan, broken up or very thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Spread the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, or until nicely browned. Let them cool before chopping roughly.
2. Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut them on an angle into 3/8-inch-thick slices. Place them in a bowl and toss with half the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
3. Place the zucchini slices on a ridged griddle pan over high heat, and char-grill for about 2 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer the zucchini to a mixing bowl and toss with balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
5. Once the zucchini have cooled down, add the remaining olive oil, the basil and hazelnuts. Mix lightly, then taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
6. Transfer the salad to a flat plate, incorporating the Parmesan, and drizzle over the hazelnut oil.