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 three recipes to celebrate courgettes in all their glory. Enjoy.

Courgette Fritters with Marinara Sauce

Preparation time less than 30 mins, cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour, Serves 6

Ingredients For the marinara sauce

2 tbsp olive oil 1 large red onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 400g can chopped tomatoes 2 sprigs thyme, leaves finely chopped (about 1 tsp chopped leaves) pinch of caster sugar flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper large handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

For the courgette fritters

3 medium free-range eggs 50g wholemeal or plain flour 125g dried natural breadcrumbs 2 packed tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese 2 tsp chopped rosemary leaves 2 medium courgettes spray oil

Method

For the marinara sauce, heat the oil in a medium pan over a low heat. Add the onion and cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until beginning to soften, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Stir the tomatoes, thyme, sugar (if you think it needs a little sweetening) and some salt and pepper. Turn down the heat so that the mixture is just simmering and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the flavours have intensified. Meanwhile, make the courgette fritters. Line two large baking trays with baking parchment. Beat the eggs in a large shallow bowl. Put the flour into another and stir in a couple of large pinches of salt and lots of pepper. Divide the breadcrumbs, parmesan and rosemary evenly between two large shallow bowls and set aside. Trim the courgette ends and slice one lengthways into three evenlysized slices. Cut each slice into three long, evenly-sized strips and then in half across their width to give 18 chips. Repeat with the second courgette to give 36 chips in total. Each one will be about 1.5cm/¾in wide and 7-8cm/3in long, depending on the size of your courgettes. Working with a few at a time, toss the courgette batons in the flour until well coated - this will help the egg to stick in the next stage. Toss through the beaten egg and, after allowing the excess egg to drip off, roll them around in one of the batches of breadcrumbs to stick all over evenly. Arrange in a single layer on the baking trays as you go. Repeat until all of the courgettes are coated, using the second batch of breadcrumbs once the first has been used up. The marinara sauce will probably be nice and thick at this stage. If it's too thick to pour, stir in a little water. Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper, add the basil leaves and cover to keep warm until ready to serve. Spray the courgettes with the oil and place in the oven for 20 minutes. If tight on space, nestle the garlic parcel onto one of the courgette trays. Half way through cooking time, remove the courgettes, turn them over, give another spray and pop them back in the oven - this time on the opposite shelves to those they were already on. Once cooked, they should be lightly browned and very crisp all over. Spoon the marinara sauce in a serving bowl. Pile the courgettes onto a serving platter and serve with the lemon wedges.

Grilled Courgette Salad with Basil, Mint, Chilli and Lemon

Preparation time less than 30 mins, Cooking time 10 to 30 mins, Serves 4-6

Ingredients

6 courgettes, ends trimmed, cut into long strips 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for dressing 1 fresh red chilli, seeded, finely chopped (or 5 tsp dried chilli flakes) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ lemon, juice only handful fresh mint, roughly chopped handful fresh basil, roughly chopped

Method

Toss the courgette strips in a bowl with the olive oil (just enough to coat the courgette), chilli, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat a ridged grill pan until smoking hot and griddle the courgettes in batches, about four minutes per side, being careful not to crowd the grill pan. They should be tender, but with a crunch to them in the middle. If the strips are not quite cooked, leave them on the grill pan for longer, but watch the heat as you don't want them to burn. Don't be tempted to move the courgette while it is cooking or you won't get the chargrill marks across the flesh. Drain on kitchen paper. Toss the griddled courgettes in the lemon juice, mint, basil and a good slug of your best extra virgin olive oil.

Chocolate Courgette Cake

Prep:10 mins, Cook:1 hr Serves 10

Ingredients

350g self-raising flour 50g cocoa powder 1 tsp mixed spice 175ml extra-virgin olive oil 375g golden caster sugar 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 500ml grated courgette (measure by volume in a measuring jug, but it's about 2 medium courgettes; if using 1 overgrown one, peel first and take out seeds) 140g ground almonds

For the icing

200g dark chocolate , chopped 100ml double cream or crème fraiche

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, mixed spice and 1 teaspoon of salt. In another bowl, combine the olive oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla essence and grated courgette. Mix the dry and wet mixture until just combined, then fold in the toasted hazelnuts. Line a 24cm cake tin with greaseproof paper, then pour in your mixture. Bake for about 40-50 mins, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool. To make the icing, place the chocolate in a bowl and bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until completely smooth and melted. Leave the icing to cool slightly and thicken, then spread it over the cake so it’s covered and the icing starts to drip down the sides.

Jane O’Hagan

EVE CONSTRUCTION LTD

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