Too Many Courgettes?

Try These Recipes

Baked Courgette Burgers

12oz courgettes grated, 2 x  3'' floury potatoes, 2 spring onions or 1/2 an ordinary onion, 4 to 8 oz feta, fresh mint, 1 egg

Sprinkle courgettes with scant teaspoon of salt. Leave in a non metal bowl for an hour. Squeeze out most of the liquid by wrapping in a clean tea towel. Cook spuds and mash them. Chop onion and mint. Mix together with egg. Form into patties and coat in flour.

Place on an oiled baking tray and rub a little oil on top. Bake in a hot oven for 30 mins, turning over half way through. The turning over ensures that they are nice and crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle.

To obtain the best flavour from courgettes, slice them 1cm thick, fry them gently in olive oil and garlic, about 5 mins each side. Or add french beans, onions, cooked spuds, chard, etc pour over beaten egg(s) and make into an omelette.

Courgette and Spinach (or Chard) Soup

Cut up courgette into small pieces. Fry an onion until transparent, add courgette, spinach, veg stock, and a pinch of nutmeg, and salt/pepper if required. Cook for 15-20 mins, liquidise. Option: add milk, crutons.

Courgette Bake

Grate courgette, put in collander, sprinkle with salt and leave an hour. Rinse off salt and drain well and squeeze courgette.
Add beaten eggs, nutmeg (and possibly milk and flour), put in tin and bake in moderate oven 30-40 mins.

Grilled Mediterranean Medley

Coarsely chop onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, beans and basil (all fresh from the garden), bung into the grill pan with  a generous slug of olive oil, and stick it under the grill till it's all cooked and some bits are starting to blacken. Serve with spuds or bread. Could also put aubergines in if you've got them.

A couple of recipes for large courgettes, on returning from holiday.

Courgette and Ginger Jam

Slice overgrown courgettes down middle, remove seeds with a spoon, then weigh them. Use about 3/4 amount of sugar and loads of fresh ginger (for 1kg of courgette, I use about 250gms ginger).

Cut up courgette into smallish pieces 1-2cm, put in bowl with half of sugar and the cut up ginger, leave overnight. Water is produced.

Next day, put all contents of bowl into pan, bring to boil and simmer for 30 mins. Then add juice of 2 lemons (for each 1kg courgettes), rind from 1 lemon and rest of sugar. Boil gently, stirring frequently, until drips set on edge of spoon (30mins or more). Bottle when hot and seal.

Using Yellow courgettes resembles marmalade. Yummy.

Courgette Chutney

4lbs Courgette, 2pts Vinegar, 1lb Sugar, 1lb Raisins, 1lb Onions, 2oz Garlic, 4oz Mustard Seed, 2oz Ginger, 4oz fresh Chillies, 2 tblsp Salt, spoon Turmeric, 1 Lemon.

Crush mustard seed, garlic, ginger, chillies. I use some of vinegar and crush these ingredients in a liquidiser.

Chop up courgettes, onions and add all ingredients to a pan (except sugar). Bring to boil and simmer. After a while, (20mins or so) add sugar and simmer until thickens. Pot and seal when cool.

Amount of chillies can be varied.

Courgettes can be sliced thickly and fried with a traditional English breakfast. 
Also can be added to a paella dish. After the onions have been fried, then add the diced courgettes to the pan. 
I would also use them in a shepherds pie to add interest.

Smashed Courgette Paste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 gloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 dried chillis chopped
6-8 small courgettes, unevenly sliced
salt and pepper
handful of fresh mint, chopped
juice of 1 lemon

Fry garlic and chilli for a few minutes then add courgettes. Cover the pan and cook gently for about 35 mins, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, season and mash for a smoother paste.
Add lemon juice, mint and more oil as required.
Optional: add 3-4 anchovies for a deeper flavour and/or some parmesan cheese.
Serve as a dip with pitta, on top of toast or with pasta

Courgette Muffins

1. Cream together 110g butter with 60g each of caster sugar and soft muscovado sugar.
2. Add 2 eggs and 80g each of self-raising wholemeal and white flour, plus one teaspoon of baking powder
3. Add juice and rind of one lime (as I didn't have a lime I used lemon balm, which was just as tasty)
4. Finely grate one courgette into the mix.
5. Spoon the mix into large, buttered muffin tins (or paper cases) and bake at 180 degrees C/Gas 4 for 30 mins.

Courgette Cake

250gm courgette grated
2 eggs
125ml sunflower oil
150gm sugar
225gm SR flour plus 1/2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
50 gm dark plain chocolate, chopped small

Mix and pour into a greased and floured loose bottomed 8'' cake tin. Cook at 160 degrees C for 35 to 40 mins. 

Another Courgette and Chocolate Cake

350 g SR flour
50 g cocoa powder
1 tsp mixed spice
175ml extra virgin olive oil
375g caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
500ml grated courgettes (about 2 medium ones)
140g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Icing (optional): 200g dark chocolate, 100ml double cream

Heat oven to 180C/Gas 4.
Combine in a large bowl: flour, cocoa powder, mixed spice and 1 tsp salt. In another bowl combine oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and courgette.
Mix these two together until just combined, fold in nuts.
Line a 24cm cake tin with greaseproof paper, then pour in the mixture.
Bake for about 40-50 mins. Cool in tin for 10 mins then turn out onto a wire tray and leave to cool before icing.
To make icing, chop chocolate into a bowl then pour on hot cream and mix until the chocolate has melted. OMG!

Courgette Wine

As a kid, I moved into a new house with my parents. The previous residents had left all their homemade wine behind in the garage and one of them was courgette/marrow wine - It looked like it had been there for years and years. We opened one bottle to try it and it tasted just like brandy! - delicious!

Courgettes/Marrows - 6 lbs
Sugar - 3 lbs (Demerara is recommended)
Root ginger - 1 ounce
juice of 3 lemons
yeast, water

Wash the marrow and cut it all up. Include the peel seeds and flesh. Add it to the crushed ginger root and pour on the boiling water. Infuse for six days, pressing and stirring daily. Strain and put into a demijohn with the sugar, juice and yeast, and ferment till it stops bubbling (leave for about 6 months), before bottling.