This is one hell of a summer sandwich, best made outside when courgettes and tomatoes are at their sweetest. The courgettes need a nice high heat, but not ridiculously hot, or they will burn before they soften. The tomatoes should just begin to collapse, blister and release some of their juices. Those smoky juices soak into the toasted focaccia, along with the olive oil, mozzarella, basil and fennel flowers. It is a wonderfully messy thing to eat.
Makes 1 large sandwich
Ingredients
4–5 small courgettes, or 2 larger ones
1 small handful of fennel fronds, if available, roughly chopped
A pinch of dried chilli flakes
10–12 cherry tomatoes
1 large piece of focaccia
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 ball of mozzarella, drained
A generous handful of basil leaves
A few fennel flowers
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Light the barbecue and allow the flames to die back until you have a good bed of glowing embers. The grill should be hot, but not fiercely so. You want to be able to hold your hand about 15cm above the grill for 3–4 seconds. If it is too hot, the courgettes will scorch before they have had time to soften.
Slice the courgettes lengthways into pieces about 2–3mm thick. Place them in a large bowl with the chopped fennel fronds, the chilli flakes, a good trickle of olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Tumble everything together gently.
Lay the courgette slices across the grill and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side, turning them once they have taken on a lovely golden colour and begun to caramelise around the edges. You may need to do this in batches so the grill is not overcrowded.
Meanwhile, turn the tomatoes through the leftover courgette seasoning and place them over the heat. Cook them for 5–7 minutes, turning them from time to time, until their skins are blistered and they are beginning to collapse. Take care not to lose all their juices into the fire.
Remove the courgettes and tomatoes from the grill and set them aside.
Split the focaccia through the middle. Place both halves, cut-side down, over the embers and grill lightly for a minute or two, until warm and just beginning to crisp. Turn them briefly to warm the other side, then remove them from the barbecue.
Rub the cut sides of the focaccia with the garlic, trickle them with olive oil and season with a little salt.
Arrange the grilled courgettes generously over the bottom half of the focaccia. Slice the mozzarella and lay it over the courgettes, then season with salt and pepper and add another trickle of olive oil.
Spoon over the hot, smoky tomatoes, along with any juices that have collected in the bowl. Tear over the basil leaves, scatter with the fennel flowers and finish with a final little trickle of olive oil.
Place the top half of the focaccia over the filling, press it down gently and cut the sandwich in half to serve.