Courgettes

[teamsaint]

Ever found that you buy these , and then they hang around too long, waiting to find a good purpose?

No? oh well, how about your favourite culinary uses for a this lovely veg?
Here is one I quite like.

Zucchini noodles.
A nice salad base. Grate or slice thinly...a potato peeler often works well. You should end up with thin strips, which can be drizzled in oil, dressing etc. Good if you fancy something fairly substantial but raw.A large courgette produces a lot of "noodles", very nice with things like raw cashews,sunflower seeds, whatever really.

Anyway, that is one way to deal with them.

[french frank]

My current favourite method is to cut them in half, longways, scoop out the seeds so that you have two long 'canoes', fill with finely chopped garlic, red chilli and fresh mint. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven. It makes a good light snack or an accompaniment for a main course.

[Sir Velo]

Haven't we had enough zucchini (sic) around these parts for the time being?

[teamsaint]

That sounds absolutely delicious, FF, I shall try it immediately. I am off to my preferred shop shortly, they are on my list.
No hanging around this time, straight into the oven with them , as suggested. Thanks.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Buy/pick from garden them small, cook as fresh as possible. Top & Tail, slice then stir-fry in olive oil until the veg take on the colour of the oil, add cashew nuts and oyster sauce. Goes very well with King Prawns or Tofu.

Essential ingredient in Ratatouille, too.

[french frank]

That sounds absolutely delicious, FF, I shall try it immediately. I am off to my preferred shop shortly, they are on my list.
No hanging around this time, straight into the oven with them , as suggested. Thanks.

I'm having my shopping done for me at present and whereas, for me, 'courgette' means 'a courgette', my shopper brought me a whole bagful - so it's a good way to use them! (And, yes, I'm just finishing a ratatouille, cooked two days ago - courgette, aubergine, red pepper, tomatoes and onions the essentials. And garlic, of course.)

[teamsaint]

Handy to bulk up a Moussaka too, if aubergines are expensive, although aubergines seem to have been pretty good value for a long time now.

[teamsaint]

I'm having my shopping done for me at present and whereas, for me, 'courgette' means 'a courgette', my shopper brought me a whole bagful - so it's a good way to use them! (And, yes, I'm just finishing a ratatouille, cooked two days ago - courgette, aubergine, red pepper, tomatoes and onions the essentials. And garlic, of course.)

well a happy chance I started this thread then !

[hedgehog]

Courgette fritters are delicious. There are any number of recipes for these to be found online - with or without cheese, flour, egg, all sorts of different herbs etc. which gives a welcome variation to the taste.

My basic one is grated courgette, some flour, a beaten egg, some kind of onion type veg chopped fine and a little curry powder, done in a non-stick pan with a little olive or peanut oil. If you don't want to use an egg, use selfraising flour or add a little baking soda to plain flour to make them lighter.

[Richard Tarleton]

I've already posted one suggestion here - but another staple in Tarleton Towers is baked courgettes with a spicy tomato sauce and cashew nuts, with of course olive oil and garlic. Also as an ingredient in stuffed peppers (peppers halved and filled with a mixture of chopped courgettes, cashew nuts, garlic etc.) and baked in the oven....

A very versatile vegetable, one way and another....

[Anna]

Courgettes are the Tofu of the vegetable world, bland but good for taking on flavours. The large ones I usually stuff, no specific recipe but comprising either rice/bulgar wheat/couscous with chopped sundried toms, spring onions, cheese of choice, pine nuts or whatever you have to hand and fancy, herbs/spices of choice; dirzzle with oil and bake, eat hot or room temperature. I like the sound of ff's recipe, will definitely try it.
Marrows are a problem, I see them going cheap but apart from my mother's stuffed marrow (basically a savoury mince) have no idea so I don't buy them.

[french frank]

Marrows are a problem, I see them going cheap but apart from my mother's stuffed marrow (basically a savoury mince) have no idea so I don't buy them.

When I was young we just had them cut into deseeded, peeled chunks and boiled. Now I would cut them into circles, peel and take out the seeds and serve, boiled, as a side vegetable with a generous dollop of a herby tomato sauce spooned into the middle of each piece. And call it marrow portuguaise rather than boiled marrow.

[gurnemanz]

Courgettes are the Tofu of the vegetable world, bland but good for taking on flavours. The large ones I usually stuff, no specific recipe but comprising either rice/bulgar wheat/couscous with chopped sundried toms, spring onions, cheese of choice, pine nuts or whatever you have to hand and fancy, herbs/spices of choice; dirzzle with oil and bake, eat hot or room temperature. I like the sound of ff's recipe, will definitely try it.
Marrows are a problem, I see them going cheap but apart from my mother's stuffed marrow (basically a savoury mince) have no idea so I don't buy them.

Courgettes are not bland in flavour if you catch them small - no longer than four inches long. You are simply buying more water when you get them larger than that. They are sold over-large to maximise profit. If I buy them at our local market, I will sort through to find the smallest and if they are all big, I will leave them alone. I'm fairly dogmatic about this and that is why I grow my own.

[Nick Armstrong]

Behind celery which I can't stand, courgettes have always been my second-least favourite veg. My heart always sinks when I see them in anything, and I always find them bland at best, and if you can taste them, nasty.

However: this

My current favourite method is to cut them in half, longways, scoop out the seeds so that you have two long 'canoes', fill with finely chopped garlic, red chilli and fresh mint. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven. It makes a good light snack or an accompaniment for a main course.

sounds bloody delicious.

Expecting a full report, teamsaint

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Courgettes are not bland in flavour if you catch them small - no longer than four inches long. You are simply buying more water when you get them larger than that. They are sold over-large to maximise profit.

If I buy them at our local market, I will sort through to find the smallest and if they are all big, I will leave them alone. I'm fairly dogmatic about this and that is why I grow my own.