Grilled courgette salad: salt before the grill, vinegar after
A courgette is 95 % water, and that is the main problem when grilling it. In a pan that water evaporates and the courgette steams rather than chars — it stays pale and soft. The fix is simple: salt the slices twenty minutes before grilling and dry them. Salt draws the water to the surface, and dried courgette takes dark bars quickly. It then goes into a garlic and mint marinade, where it sits for at least half an hour and only improves.
Your own work in that: 39 min.
- Slicing 8 min
- Salting 20 min
- Grilling 26 min
- Marinade 30 min
- Serving 5 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneSlice lengthwise into planks
Cut the courgettes lengthwise into 5 mm slices. Not rounds: long planks have more contact with the pan, are easier to turn and look like antipasto on the plate rather than leftovers.
Ingredients: 800 g courgettes · 1 tsp salt · 2 tbsp olive oil
Tip5 mm is the optimum. Thinner slices fall apart when turned; thicker ones stay raw inside before the outside can char.
Lengthwise, five millimetres, not roundsSalt and wait twenty minutes
Lay the slices on a tea towel, sprinkle with salt and leave 20 minutes. Beads of water appear on the surface — the salt drawing it out of the cells. Then dry them thoroughly with a second towel, pressing down.
TipThe same treatment is used for aubergine. The difference is immediate: dried courgette takes its bars quickly, while wet courgette steams for ages and stays pale anyway.
Beads of water, then driedGrill on a dry pan
Heat a griddle pan hard, 5 minutes. Brush the slices lightly with oil (not the pan) and grill 2–3 minutes a side without moving them, until dark bars form. Work in batches — crowded slices start steaming again; all the batches take about 20 minutes in total.
Ingredients: 800 g courgettes · 1 tsp salt · 2 tbsp olive oil
Oil on the courgette, not the panLayer them into the marinade
In a shallow dish mix the oil, vinegar, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper. Layer the hot slices into it, interleaving them with mint leaves and spooning marinade between. Warm courgette absorbs the marinade; cold courgette merely sits in it.
Ingredients: 6 tbsp olive oil · 2 tbsp red wine vinegar · 2 cloves garlic · ½ tsp chilli flakes · 25 pcs fresh mint · ½ tsp salt · ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
Hot slices, mint between the layersLeave it half an hour
Leave at room temperature at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours. To serve, arrange on a platter and scatter with shaved parmesan and toasted pine nuts. Serve at room temperature, never straight from the fridge.
Ingredients: 60 g parmesan · 40 g pine nuts
Half an hour marinating, then parmesan
Before you start
Better the next day
This salad improves overnight in the fridge — the garlic and mint have time to penetrate. Take it out an hour before serving so the oil loosens again. Always store it in the fridge and eat it within 2–3 days: raw garlic in oil is not suitable for longer storage (risk of botulism).
Without a griddle pan
A heavy ordinary pan works, giving even browning rather than bars. You can also roast the slices 12 minutes at 230 °C on a rack, turning once.
With aubergine
Aubergine is prepared identically and sits happily on the same platter. It needs a minute longer a side and absorbs noticeably more oil.
As a starter and a side
Serve with bread and mozzarella as antipasto, or beside grilled meat. Chopped finely it also makes an excellent addition to pasta with ricotta.
