Kabak Borani (Zucchini With Garlicky Yogurt)
Cool, elegant, and easy to repeat. Perfect for summer.
Kabak borani is one of the best uses of zucchini I know, and it barely looks like a recipe. Zucchini, yogurt, garlic, olive oil.
In Turkey, some version of borani has been landing up on meze tables for generations. Courgette in summer, spinach in winter, always with yogurt and garlic. It’s the kind of thing that appears on the table without anyone announcing it.
It’s cool and garlicky, with the sweetness of cooked zucchini, plenty of good olive oil and, in this version, lime zest, mint and basil. Dill would be completely at home here too.
I make it throughout summer, the kind of thing that finds its place easily among everything else on the table.
Kabak Borani (Zucchini With Garlicky Yogurt)
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
3 medium zucchini (about 600 g)
400 g thick strained yogurt
2 garlic cloves
Zest of 1 lime
2 sprigs fresh mint
1 sprig fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for cooking
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, to finish
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
Grate the zucchini. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and cook over medium-low heat until all the water has gone. Salt only after cooking.
Spread on a plate and let cool until just warm.
Crush the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt. Whisk into the yogurt.
Fold in the zucchini. Grate over the lime zest, finely chop the mint and basil and add. Season with salt and pepper.
Finish generously with olive oil and a few mint leaves. Serve cool rather than fridge-cold. It keeps, covered in the fridge, for up to 2 days.
MENU
Kabak Borani (Zucchini With Garlicky Yogurt)
Cool, garlicky, with mint, basil and lime zest.
Domates Pilaki
Tomatoes Braised in Olive Oil, Served Cold
Közlenmiş Biber Salatası (Charred Peppers in Olive Oil)
Blistered until black, peeled, dressed with olive oil, garlic and a little vinegar.
Grilled fish (Sea Bream or Seabass)
Whole fish, olive oil, lemon, nothing else. Very Aegean, very August.
Maraş Ice Cream
With Fresh Figs, and Tahini With Grape Molasses
Karpuz
Ice-Cold Watermelon