A fine alternative to pasta or rice salad? Courgette noodles! Fresh, flavoursome and above all very quick to prepare for those very hot days when there is little heart for lighting the oven!

The noodles, or courgette spaghetti are easily prepared thanks to a purpose-made kitchen implement which reduces the courgettes into spaghetti. You will discover how good this raw vegetable is; just add a light condiment for a fanciful little lunch. 

Choose young courgettes, which will be sweeter, or better still, if untreated, you can safely eat them without removing the skin. The courgette spaghetti will be ready in an instant. Leave them in the fridge to rest in a Bain Marie with ice or cold water, in order to keep them crisp and fresh until they are ready to be eaten, possible at a fine pic-nic.

Or you can dress them right away with a Genoa pesto or a rocket pesto; the Summer supper will be ready in an instant.  For a light and complete office lunch, the ideal accompaniment would be chicken breast and cherry tomatoes. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the game is won.

The Recipe:

Wash the courgettes very well and cut off the ends. Then place the  courgettes into the appropriate machine for turning them into spaghetti. Place the courgette spaghetti onto a plate which should be arranged onto a bowl of cold water and leave to rest in the fridge. 

In the meantime, wash the cherry tomatoes which you will have kept out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes and cut them in half or into even smaller pieces. Put them into a salad bowl and salt them. Leave them to rest for a few minutes so that they release their juice, then add the cubes of Negroni chicken and season with oil and pepper. Mix and allow the ingredients to blend their flavours. 

Remove the courgettes from the fridge and place them into the salad bowl. Mix with the aid of two spoons. A few leaves of basil may be added, torn by hand, before serving. The Courgette noodles are ready!