This week I'm going to talk about courgettes. We've had the sweetest courgettes for the summer and I've mostly been eating them raw, grated in a salad or sliced up in a pitta bread. However, as the season comes to an end, I've been roasting them up for the top of my Autumn salads.

I often find at the turn of the seasons that I eat a lot of warm salads - the large raw salads of the summer are well on their way out.

Courgettes are a great source of Manganese and Vitamin C. Manganese is not just a powerful anti-oxidant but also is also known as an 'enzyme activator', improving the utilization of a range of nutrients. Vitamin C is fairly well-known as a vitamin but one thing to remember is that it is a water soluble vitamin, meaning that the body cannot store it for long. For this reason, its good to eat Vitamin C rich foods on a daily basis... well there you go!

It is important not to overcook courgettes and so having them raw or cooked al dente - i.e. with a little crunch is best. I've oven roasted mine here, which I only occasionally do. If they turn translucent they are overcooked.

Roasted Courgette and Halloumi Salad

Serves 4 as a side salad or 2 as a good sized lunch

1/2 packet of halloumi (about 120g) - cubed
2 medium courgettes - sliced
1 sweet potato - diced into small squares
2 red onions - cut into 8 pieces
1 garlic clove - crushed
2 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander
1 tbsp of parsley
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of a lime
Freshly cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 160 oc (Fan) or 180 oc

Place all of the vegetables in a large mixing bowl (courgettes, sweet potatoes and onions) and mix well with 1 dessert spoon of olive oil, garlic and pepper.
Place on a baking tray and cook for 20 mins - until sweet potatoes are cooked.
Meanwhile make the dressing by mixing the olive, lime juice and pepper together.
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and sprinkle on the halloumi. Place under the grill for 10 minutes until they start to brown (remove vegetables is you have a grill and oven in one).

Serve on a bed of mixed leaves if you wish.

Wheat free, gluten free, sugar free

If you are interested in a one on one consultation, contact me on lucy@spogsracing.com