A roasted, herby courgette dish with main character energy GF - DF

It’s ‘free-from', but full of love.

Jun 11, 2025

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“I think of what meat I want to make and decide the sides around that,” a friend describes how she creates a meal for loved ones.

Many people do the same. The protein is often the centrepiece of the plate — the thing that gets a wow at the table as it is lowered then nestled between sides, glasses, and table mats to admiring glances.

But finding a main dish recipe that looks gorgeous, is easy to make, that works for various food intolerances such as gluten and dairy and is veggie can be tricky — especially if you want to serve it with some interesting sides rather than make a one-pot meal.

And lets be honest, now that summer is officially here in the northern hemisphere you also might not want to hover over a hot stove when you have guests around too. So it must be easy to reheat or assemble.

This layered courgette recipe is creamy, fresh, pretty healthy — and yes, it can bring a little wow to the table too.

It has three easy elements that can all be made in advance and then assembled in under five minutes.

The Courgettes

You want them thick and substantial, so they’re better air-fried or oven-roasted than pan-fried.

You can reheat them just before serving in a frying pan or bring them to room temperature by taking them out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead of time. A mix of yellow and green courgettes works beautifully here if you can find them.

Don’t like or don’t have courgettes?
Try it with carrots instead. Different varieties and colours will make it even more eye-catching. You could also use whole pan fried asparagus — although it won’t give the same height on the plate, so that might work better as a side dish or starter.

The Butter Bean Dip

This creamy dip can be made the day before and stored in the fridge. If you don’t have butter beans, cannellini beans (navy beans) work just as well.

The Herby Oil

This adds so much flavour to the dish — and is even better if made outside on a garden table, finely chopping mint and parsley while listening to the sounds of summer and drinking something refreshing.

Bringing It All Together

This dish works because of its layers of flavour and texture.

Serve it with:

Roasted baby potatoes and my broccoli salad
Potato or pasta salad
Or for a lighter lunch: chunks of your favourite gluten-free bread and a simple green salad

The herby oil really brings it all to life. And if you can find pomegranate seeds, they add a fruity burst and look stunning against the creamy white and vibrant greens.

The (vegan) feta is optional — but if you use it, its salty creaminess adds another level. Just go light on the salt in the herby oil to keep the balance right.

Each element on its own is lovely— but together, the dish sings.

Roasted, herby courgette with a butter bean dip

Serves 2

Total time: 35-40 minutes
Prep time: Most can be done while the courgettes are in the oven.
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your courgette pieces

Ingredients

Butterbean dip

One 400g can butter beans or cannellini drained(navy beans)
0.5 large garlic clove roughly chopped or 1 small.
1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Salt to taste
2.5-3 tablespoons cold water (reserve one - see notes below)
Optional but adds more flavour - 1 medium sized mint leaf and a few parsley leaves.

Herby oil

16g Fresh flat leaf parley finely chopped
3g Fresh mint finely chopped
0.5 garlic clove minced
60ml Extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice (to add for your taste)

Courgettes

3 medium sized courgettes cut in half horizontally then cut in 4-5 cm wedgies
1 tablespoon Olive oil
Salt to taste
Optional but it does add more flavour - a two figure (thumb and forefinger) small pinch of dried - thyme, rosemary, basil and oregano. Be careful not to over do it as these herbs can be quite strong. If using them, then mix into the olive oil before pouring over the courgettes.

Description

Put your oven on 200°C/425°F fan and lay greaseproof paper over 1-2 large oven trays.

Wash and cut the ends of the courgettes. Then cut in half horizontally and then do diagonal cuts to cut into 4-5 pieces to create angled wedgies.

Mix the olive oil with salt and the dried herbs (if using).

Pour the olive over the courgettes. Mix it in and then place the courgettes on the oven trays allowing lots of space between them so they roast and caramelise rather than steam.

Cook for around 20-30 minutes. It is dependent on the size of your courgettes. I would check at 15 minutes then in 5 minute increments to see if they are cooked.

While they are cooking, we can make the butter bean dip. Empty a drained can of beans into a high powered blender, with the 0.5 large garlic clove roughly chopped, the lemon and orange juice, herbs, salt and half of the water. Blend together, you might have to do this a few times and in between push down the mixture. Add more of the water if need be but reserve 0.5-1 tablespoon back till the end.

Then check it for flavour.

You want this to have a super smooth texture almost like a hummus.

You want it a bit thicker than you need. Then empty it into a dish and add the tablespoon of water you reserved into the blender jar. Add the lid and shake. This will help loosen up any bits that stuck in side. Pour into your dish and mix it together to create one consistency.

Cover and place the dish in the fridge till you need it.

Wash, pat dry the herbs for the herby oil. Chop them down until they start to take up less space and become a dark green colour. You are looking for fine pieces of herbs (as much as you can get with your knife).

Place into a separate glass bowl and add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt and mix. The mixture will taste a bit bitter from the olive oil, sharp from the juice but the dip and courgettes will help it mellow. Cover and put in the fridge till you need it.

20 minutes before you want to assemble take your ingredients out of the fridge.

To Serve

Use a serving plate or platter.

Swirl the bean dip across the serving plate - leaving 2–3 centimetres clear around the edge.
Place the courgettes (or carrots/asparagus) on top in an eclectic, natural way to add some height.
Drizzle over the herby oil.
Crumble over the (vegan) feta, if using.
Finish with a scattering of vibrant red pomegranate seeds for colour and a fruity bite to the dish.

Bring it to the table and wait for the wow.

But shhh — don’t tell them how easy it was.
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