Courgettes

[DRFC1879]

I've recently taken on an allotment which is becoming quite rewarding and enjoyable. I've got a few courgette plants and they're all growing very nicely but I've never been a big courgette fan so I need some ideas for recipes aside form the usual ratatouille. Any suggestions?

[mcbook]

Just last night I had to use up some left-over courgettes. What I came up with was very simple but really tasty and more of a lunch than a dinner. Simple, fired veg and haloumi cheese with a side of buttered crusty bread.

Ingredients:
Courgettes
Peppers
Red onion
Haloumi

Method
Roughly chop all veg. Slice haloumi into large chunks. Chuck everything in the frying pan with a splash of oil and fry over a high heat until the veg has softened a little and the haloumi is browned. Add a twist of pepper. Serve with a couple of slices of buttered crusty bread.

The cheese gives a lovely rich, salty flavour to the veg. The crunchy vs chewy textures of the veg and cheese is also quite enjoyable. The best part is it'll take 10 mins from start to end. Enjoy.

[Bill]

Slice about as thick as a pound coin and BBQ or griddle, then dress with lemon and olive.oil.
Or we had a courgette ribbon salad today that was delicious. I'll post a link in a mo...

[Bill]

http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/food/recipes/cou...

[TIGA84]

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/b...

[85Carrera]

Why are you growing them if you don't like them?

Try this for a take on a caprese salad - http://inspiralized.com/caprese-zucchini-noodle-sa...

[Nimby]

We first came across spicy courgette soup in northern Spain - it's rather good.
Freezes well too as you always have far too many over the summer to eat just as vegetables.

Various recipes on the web.

[KungFuPanda]

https://food52.com/recipes/14016-zucchini-frites-w...

When in doubt, batter and fry.

[Murph7355]

This is lovely:

https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/homemade-rock...

Or just plain old zucchini fritti (not sure how I missed KFP's same suggestion!):

http://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/healthy/courg...

Get those right and you won't want courgette any other way

[NorthDave]

I am a big fan of adding them to chicken curry - the two go together well.

Also try shredding them with a speed peeler then adding parmesan and olive oil for a great summer "salad".

[tuffer]

Skin and then slice very thinly, use as Spaghetti or mixed with Linguine in a Vegetarian dish with plenty of Lemon and Parmesan.

[6th Gear]

Use the flowers.

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/deep-fried-co...

[C0ffin D0dger]

TIGA84 said:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/b...

I was going to suggest that. We always have it a few times over the summer once the courgette glut gets underway.

You can pickle then, make chutney with them etc. as well.

[karona]

Cut in half length-ways and scoop out the seeds to make 'canoes'. Add your favourite pizza ingredients, tomato sauce, diced tomato, mushroom, bacon bits, whatever, cover generously with Parmesan cheese and cook for 18 to 20 minutes at 180 deg C.

Alternative fillings include left-over curry, bolognese sauce, mince, etc, etc.

[Ej74]

You can make wine from them as well !
Fritters - diced and mixed with whatever you want and fried

Also take the flowers and stuff them with cheese and battered and shallow fried

[drdino]

6th Gear said:

Use the flowers.

https://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/deep-fried-co...

This, in Greece they do them with feta cheese as well.

The rest of the courgette can be stuffed with rice/minced meat:

[matrignano]

TIGA84 said:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/b...

Jamie Oliver can fk right off!

Not a massive fun of courgettes either, although I love the flowers.
Courgettes go well with prawns I reckon, and are a good pairing in a pasta or risotto (julienne cut) with a hint of saffron.
Flowers: traditional roman recipe is to stuff them with mozzarella and an anchovy, batter and deep fry. They also work well in pastas again associated with seafood or possibly sausage.

Edited by matrignano on Friday 7th July 11:33

[captainzep]

KungFuPanda said:

https://food52.com/recipes/14016-zucchini-frites-w...

When in doubt, batter and fry.

Personally I prefer them 'matchsticked' very thin, salted and left for an hour or so (to bring out some of the water content) then just tossed in some seasoned flour and deep fried for a few seconds until golden. They look great heaped on a piece of meat/fish as a garnish for a posh plate of food, or can just be nibbled on as a snack with pre-dinner drinks.

Also just sliced into rounds as thick as a pencil, gently fried in some garlicky butter until they take on some colour, go great with a bass fillet or grilled chicken.

[Melman Giraffe]

You need one of these.....

https://www.procook.co.uk/product/procook-handheld...

Then this....

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/38951/courgetti-spa...

[DRFC1879]

Thanks for all the replies. As for why I'm growing them, the allotment is new and the chap on the next plot insisted we take some of his young plants for which he had no more room so I couldn't really say no. I'll try some of the recipes and give a few away to neighbours etc.