Because I'm just back from holiday, because the last recipe was a little more involved, and — most importantly — because it was actually hot in England today, here's something so simple that it's hardly even a recipe. It's a side dish I make on automatic whenever the weather gets warm.
Take a courgette, a veg peeler, and a large bowl. Peel long strips from the courgette, turning it as you go, until you reach the core. Repeat with one or more courgettes until you have a pile of appropriate size. I don't know how many guests you have and frankly I'm a little hurt not to have been asked.
To your pile of courgettes, add flaky sea salt, a swoosh of the good olive oil, and the juice of at least half a lemon. Now, using your hands — nature's salad forks — get in there and toss enthusiastically. No laughing at the back.
Taste. Maybe it needs the other half of that lemon. You'll know when it's right: it should taste green and snappy and like you'd happily eat it straight from the bowl. It can sit for a little while at this point if you need it to, but the courgettes lose their bite and give out more liquid the longer you wait, so I prefer to make it as close to eating time as I can.
To finish, add plenty of torn leaves of mint or basil or both. Pile it on a clean white plate and eat immediately alongside something warm and savoury.
You may very well already make something like this! But if you don't, you really should try it. It's a side dish that you can put together in five minutes max with zero kitchen skills and it tastes as good as it looks. It has five ingredients, including salt and lemon juice. You could have it tonight.
Waste not. If, like me, you don't love the idea of throwing away those courgette cores, something that works beautifully is charring them on a barbecue or a griddle, and then slicing them into the same dressing as the salad. Serve them alongside each other: there's a lovely contrast between the smoky charred cores (which are a close cousin of the burnt beans from my first email) and the fresh ribboned courgettes.