Feta dip with charred courgettes and rocket

Scorch and blacken the skins under a grill or on a bbq. You could also dry roast the courgettes on a gas stove either over the bare flame or on a suitable dry pan. I add the courgettes while they are still slightly warm to the dish – I love that cold, warm combination.

You can easily make this vegan. I did a version with Violife's vegan feta, replace the milk and yoghurt with plant milk and yoghurt.

Course: Dip, Starter, Vegan starter, Vegetarian starter

Cuisine: British

Keyword: Courgette recipes, Dips, Scorched courgettes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vegetarian BBQ

Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 courgettes, washed, whole
400 g feta cheese
3 tbsp yoghurt
3 tbsp milk
1 clove garlic
1 lemon, zest and juice
handful pumpkin seeds
100 g rocket
Olive oil, I used Pomora's lemon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Scorch the courgettes turning them over regularly with tongs. If they still aren't soft enough in the middle you can pop them in the oven for half an hour. You want them mildly blackened but not overdone. I use the skins as I like the smokey taste, reminiscent of baba ghanoush, but you could just use the insides. Once cooked, you can either rip up the courgettes into strips or mash with a fork until a paste.
Crumble up the feta, adding the yoghurt, milk and garlic into a blender, Blend until smooth.
Add lemon juice, olive oil, pepper.
Ladle the feta mixture onto a plate, then add the rocket, then the courgettes. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, more olive oil, more lemon if needed, and sea salt. Eat with warm crusty bread.