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You can also enjoy this dish at Restaurant Le Meurice Alain Ducasse and find out about our other exceptional ingredients.
Food and drink
Zucchini, olive and basil cookpot
December 22, 2021
Amaury Bouhours, executive chef at our Michelin-starred Restaurant le Meurice Alain Ducasse, shares a glimpse of their ‘Essential Cuisine’ through his authentic zucchini, olive and basil cookpot.
Signature dish
This fresh and simple vegetarian dish is designed to delight. It tastes best made with locally sourced zucchini, when it’s naturally in season. Presented in a classic tian style, it’s certainly eye-catching. As an established favourite here at Le Meurice, we proudly offer it as one of our signature dishes and share the recipe so you can make it yourself at home.
THE RECIPE
Zucchini tian
750g of yellow zucchini
750g of light green zucchini
750g of dark green zucchini
150 g shallots in vinegar
½ head of garlic
½ bunch of French thyme
50g olive or basil oil
Thinly slice all the zucchini lengthwise and keep the outer trimmings for later. Heat the slices in a pan to soften them then set aside on a plate to cool before separating from the cooking juices.
Zucchini ‘caviar’
Made with the zucchini trimmings
In a large roasting tray, drizzle the zucchini trimmings with olive oil then season and add the thyme and garlic. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 150°C for around 30 – 50 minutes. Once cooked, set aside the juices and blend the drained zucchini to obtain a texture like lamb’s lettuce. Add the shallots with vinegar and 25g of olive or basil oil then season and set aside ready for assembly.
Basil pesto
½ clove of garlic
50g pine nuts
2 bunches of basil
100g olive oil
In a mortar, crush the garlic, pine nuts and basil then add the olive oil and season. Pour into a container lined with aluminium foil to prevent it from oxidizing.
Final touch
1 lemon
25g of olives
½ bunch of purple basil
5g olive powder or 10g dried raw olives (to be prepared 48h in advance by baking at 55°C for 48 hours)
Peel the lemon, remove the segments and dice. Halve the olives lengthwise and remove the basil leaves from the stem. Add all these ingredients to the olive powder.
Gravy
Zucchini cooking juices
25g Barolo or wine vinegar
10g olive oil
Reduce down the zucchini juices then stir in the olive oil and vinegar and keep warm.
Final assembly
Line a cookpot or casserole dish with the zucchini ‘caviar’ and add a layer of pesto. Roll up the zucchini strips and fill the dish as shown in the photo, alternating the colours. Bake in the oven at 150°C for 8 – 10 minutes. Add the final touches and finish with a dash of warm gravy.
Serves 4
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