In Praise Of … Courgettes

This month we showcase courgettes, which may be bland, but that also means they are versatile. They can be dressed up in a creamy lemon sauce and served with pasta, grated and added to a quiche, or served as crisp fritters. In fact, recipes for courgettes come in as many shapes and sizes as the squash itself: varieties of this summer vegetable can range from small and flying-saucer shaped, to dark-green and tennis ball-sized, to long and yellow.

Here are two recipes to celebrate courgettes in all their glory. Enjoy.

Cheese and Courgette Muffins

Ingredients

225g self-raising flour

100g courgette, grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

100g mature cheddar, grated

175ml milk

1 free-range egg

55ml olive oil

10 cherry tomatoes

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, courgette, salt, freshly ground black pepper and cheddar and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg and olive oil. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.

Grease ten muffin moulds and half-fill each with the mix.

Prick each cherry tomato - this stops them popping when they cook - and press one tomato into the top of each spoonful of mix.

Spoon the remaining mixture over each muffin to conceal the tomato. Cook for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Courgette, Coconut and Spinach Noodles

Ingredients for the dressing

¼ tin or 100ml coconut milk

¼ lime, juice and zest only

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

Pinch dried chilli flakes

1 garlic clove

For the noodles

100–150g dried noodles or 300g straight-to-wok noodles, variety of your choice

1 courgette, shredded (very finely sliced)

½ bag spinach or baby spinach (about 125–150g)

Handful radishes, julienned (sliced into strips about the size of matchsticks)

Small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Method

To make the dressing, combine the coconut milk, lime zest and juice, soy sauce, olive oil and dried chilli in a small bowl and grate in the garlic clove. Season generously and set aside.

If using dried noodles, cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Two minutes before the end of the cooking time, add the courgette to the water, simmer for a minute, then add the spinach, using a wooden spoon to push it under the water for a minute. Immediately take off the heat and drain in a sieve. Rinse under cold water, squeeze dry, then transfer to a bowl. If using straight to wok noodles, gently fry the courgette until tender then add the noodles. Once hot, tip in the spinach and cook until just wilted.

Add the dressing, radishes and coriander and lightly toss together. Transfer to plates and serve.

Jane O’Hagan