It's started, the courgette glut! We're now harvesting two or three courgettes every couple of days and the number are only going to increase once all six plants start producing...
So, I was wondering, what do people 'do' with courgettes? We've put them in pasta sauces, cooked them with tinned tomatoes as a side dish and even cut them lengthways and roasted them in the oven. But there must be more to do with them surely...
I'm sure I saw Jamie Oliver slicing them up really thin and putting them in a salad while still raw. Has anyone tried that or got any other good suggestions on what to do with them?
14 comments:
I love the word corgette. Sounds so much more classy than cucumber. I say eat 'em anyway you want.
I like mine in vinegar, water with salt & pepper & sliced onion.~~Dee
Ever try zucchini (courgette) bread?
Here's recipe I like but there's no shortage of others:
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=569756866a80f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_2&autonomy_kw=zucchini+bread
Courgette cake is green version of carrot cake and equally yummy. They used to make it where I worked as the afternoon cake, so I don't have a recipe - but I'm sure Google can help out!
There's also that book 'What will I do with all those courgettes?. The picture on the front cover always makes me laugh!
I've seen some sliced and frozen in a stir fry mix. Back home in the US, we sliced and breaded the zucchini and deep fried them. Extra yummy with a dip of ranch dressing or garlic sauce. My personal favourite is courgette used in ratatouille to top spinach and ricotta tortellini for a light dinner. My hubby likes it roasted and topped with cheese. I just wish I could keep a courgette plant alive long enough to get one!
I normally dice them and add them to anything with mince, so chili and stuff like that. Mid glut last year I discovered a courgette bread which works very well and this year I have a recipe for chocolate cake which somehow involves courgettes, we'll see...
The main problem is OH hates them so most my recipes involve hiding them in someway.
Yep I make courgette cake too if my Mum has any spare (don't like them myself, only tolerate them in yummy courgette cake). I posted about this when I started my blog, you can get my recipe here: http://www.smallestsmallholding.com/courgette-cake-yes-really/
There's always ratatouille, I like to have a few batches in the freezer to use over winter as well.
One of my favourite ways to have courgettes warm is to slice and sauté gently in butter with thyme.
If you've got a real glut coming what about picking them really small and steaming or sautéing them whole?
can make soup of them. really nice. and peppers for extra taste.
also, check out http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=739, just read it.
1. Benagli Dish - you can make pancakes from the flowers!!! They taste amazing. photo here http://weekendfarmer.blogspot.com/2007/10/pumpkin.html#links
usually we do it with pumpkin flowers - but this will be same.
2. Japanese Dish - Also, you can make zucchini tempura.
3. Arabic/Turkish dish - You can stuff baby zucchinis with rice and ground meat and make stuffed zucchinis.
I give them to friends.
I forgot I blogged a bread recipe right back at the beginning of my blogging:
http://vegplotting.blogspot.com/2007/11/courgette-tarragon-lemon-bread.html
I've given some variations to try as well - I've found it works well with the squash explosion later on in the year
Wow, thanks guys some of those ideas sound great! Think we'll save some up over the next couple of days and make something exciting with them at the weekend.
:)
I have also shredded and frozen
to add to recipes over the winter..
soups,stir fry,cakes,cookies,zucchini
bread and muffins. Good luck..ours aren't here yet.
A couple of ideas from Spain:
- Courgette cream: boil the courgette with onion, some potatoe and salt, use the mixer on this until it is really soft. Take it on the heat again, add some milk (or cream) and butter, taste it and add salt if necessary, and a pinch of pepper. You can serve with some mint or parsley leaves on each bowl.
- Scrambled courgette/courgette omelette: Saute the courgette with some onion, add salt and add the whisked eggs. Keep stirring if you like them scrambled or mount an omelette if you want.
- Farfalle primavera (spring bow-tie pasta): Cook different vegetables (onion, leek, carrot, courgette) on a frying pan with some oil, boil some spinach, boil the bow-tie pasta and serve a bed of pasta, with the spinach on it and the veggies on top. Dice some feta cheese and add it also. Complete with some basil (either fresh or dry) and a squirt of olive oil.
Que aproveche!
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