Basil-dressed spring vegetables with almond tapenade
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Basil-dressed spring vegetables with almond tapenade
‘This dish is a burst of freshness, with the tapenade bringing out the flavours of the veg.'
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Eoin Smith
Eoin Smith is the executive chef at The Hut, a seafood restaurant set on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight at Colwell Bay. He has also spent several years working at a fine-dining restaurant in Malta
Eoin Smith
Eoin Smith is the executive chef at The Hut, a seafood restaurant set on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight at Colwell Bay. He has also spent several years working at a fine-dining restaurant in Malta
Ingredients
- 1 x 200g pack baby courgettes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 x 200g pack sugar snap peas, Tenderstem broccoli and asparagus
- 50g fresh or frozen broad beans
For the almond and parsley tapenade
- 50g blanched almonds
- 170g pitted kalamata olives (drained weight)
- 30g capers, drained and rinsed
- 20g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- juice of ½ lemon
- 3½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
For the basil pistou
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- juice of ½ lemon
- 4½ tbsp olive oil
- 50g basil, leaves picked
- 1½ tbsp sherry vinegar
Step by step
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For the tapenade, put the almonds in a frying pan and toast over a medium-low heat for a few minutes until golden. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, transfer to a food processor with the olives, capers, parsley, garlic and lemon juice. Pulse to a rough paste, then slowly drizzle in the oil, with the motor running, until combined. Season with black pepper and scrape into a bowl.
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For the basil pistou, put the garlic, lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes in a mortar and pound with a pestle. Alternatively, pulse in a small food processor. Add the olive oil and basil, then crush or pulse again to a rough paste. Stir in the vinegar and set aside.
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Quarter the baby courgettes. Heat the oil in a frying pan or griddle pan until hot, then cook the courgettes for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden. Set aside to cool. Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and prepare a bowl of iced water. Once boiling, blanch the sugar snap peas, Tenderstem broccoli, asparagus and broad beans for 3 minutes or until tender but still bright green, then remove with a slotted spoon to the iced water. Drain the vegetables once cold.
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Put the drained vegetables and courgettes in a large bowl and toss to coat in the basil pistou, then arrange on a large serving platter. Dollop over spoonfuls of the tapenade (see Cook’s Tip) and drizzle with olive oil to serve.
You only need about half the almond tapenade for this recipe. Store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Swirl into houmous, dot over eggs or spread into sandwiches.
