Summer Time Easy Courgette - Zucchini Carpaccio

A delightful and very elegant summer starter dish that is fresh and easy to make. The combination of the parmesan cheese with the hazenut oil and black olives is a very sophisticated flavour, making this a wonderful dish to serve before any special summer dinner party. If you cannot get hold of hazelnut oil, walnut oil would be a good substitute. Green olives can also be used, but the colours will not be so dramatic! Try to use FRESHLY grated/shaved parmesan cheese from a block, the taste is far better than the pre-packed grated cheese. Wine suggestion - a chilled Chablis or Chardonnay.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 -4  small  hard courgettes (zucchini)
• 100  g parmesan cheese, fresh shavings
• 30  g pine nuts
• 2  tablespoons olive oil (or 2 tablespoons of hazelnut or walnut oil)
• 1  tablespoon hazelnut oil (or walnut oil)
• 12  pitted black olives
• 1⁄2 bunch fresh parsley
•  pink peppercorns
•  salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Wash the courgettes, dry them in kitchen paper, cut off the ends, slice them as thinly as possible and arrange them in layers on a plate. Or, you can peel them into long strips with a potato peeler, vegetable peeler, or a mandolin.
2. Pour the both types of oil evenly over the courgettes. Thinly slice the parmesan into shavings and spread over the courgettes. Sprinkle the pine nuts, black olives, a few crushed pink peppercorns ver the top and season to tate with salt and black pepper.
3. Wash, dry and finely snip the parsley; sprinkle over the courgettes and serve immediately with fresh crusty bread.
4. TIP: The same recipe can be prepared in the following way: leave the courgette slices to marinate in a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, chives, salt and pepper for 12 hours.
5. When it's time to serve, drain the courgette slices, place them on individual plates and finish with a garnish of parmesan, pine nuts and black olives.