Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Food & Drink => Topic started by: RainOrShine on 22 July, 2008, 01:42:34 pm
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My neighbour keeps giving me courgettes from his allotment. Which is extremely kind of him, but I am running out of interesting ideas for them.
I've found a veggie lasagne somewhere downthread, but does anyone have some good ideas (as meat accompaniment, or as meal in their own right) for courgettes?
Thanks!
RoS.
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Have you got a compost bin? Adding to the compost mix is the only useful thing I can think of, but then again I do find courgettes and Aubergines :sick: :sick: :sick:
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Love 'em both. Disliking aubergines, in particular, is incomprehensible to me.
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Our 'lady who does' made some pakora with sliced courgette the other day.
Truth be told, it isn't that great.
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You need to contact Phil. He makes cakes from them.
I haven't heard whether he smokes them as well though.
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Using a veg peeler, peel thin slices along the length of the courgette so you end up with something a little like fat courgette tagliatelle. Fry gently in olive oil for a few minutes with some finely chopped garlic and serve with pasta, topped with parmesan. Use one medium courgette per person as it cooks down quite a bit. Yum.
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Diced and added to tomato sauce for pasta
Stir-fried with butter
Microwaved to 'parboiled', then push the middle out using a teaspoon, and stick a soft-but-not-quite-cooked carrot through the middle, slice into beautiful rounds of carrot-stuffed courgette
Courgette cake (of course)
Cut in half lengthwise, scoop out the middle and combine the middle with
* breadcrumbs & grated cheese
* brown rice & raisins
* Potato & diced onion
then return filling to courgette and bake until crusty
Mmmm... courgettes... :P
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Courgette & tomato tarty things:
3 sheets of filo pastry per tim
cherry toms
courgettes
fresh basil leaves
eggs
milk
Black pepper
Grease the flan tins well. Cut the filo pastry sheets to size, so that they completely cover the base of the flan tins, arranged so they are all at slightly different angles and form a spiky edge. Tear the basil leaves and cover the pastry base. Layer sliced courgettes and toms alternately. Whisk together the eggs and milk, then pour this mixture over the toms & courgettes, until the flan dish is nearly full. Add freshly ground black pepper. Cook for around 15-20 mins at gas 5 or 6.
Sorry, I can't give units, I usually just mix up the eggs and milk according to the size of the flan dishes - large or 5" individual ones.
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Fritata (posh euro-omelette). Slice and fry up a courgette and some other veggies (I go with peppers, a bit of onion, maybe a stick of celery). Pour on eggs and milk, turn down the heat and slowly cook until set. Top with cheese (fresh parmesan!) and grill.
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Mel made a gorgeous courgette soup the other day from some of our crop...
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Maffie made a lovely veggie bolognese with our first home grown courgette :)
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All of the above sound lovely. And courgettes are also very nice as a salad accompaniment or side dish, simply sliced and fried until golden brown then drizzled with lemon juice and some grated lemon peel.
However, I have a fantastic way of using as many courgettes as your neighbour could possibly grow. Indeed you'll be able to look him in the eye and say "Is that all ?"
You need a large saucepan, and preferably something heavy-bottomed so that you can cook slowly for a long time.
Few cloves of garlic and an onion or two, sliced.
Take the courgette mountain - really as many as you can into the pan - and dice them into reasonably smallish pieces about 1cm square.
Good slosh of oil and some butter into the pan at medium heat. Put in the onion, garlic and couple of handfuls of courgette, enough to cover the base and sautee until they start to brown and the onion begins to go transparent.
Add in the rest of the courgette, give it a couple of minutes while stirring it occasionally then reduce the heat quite low and cook it for like an hour or more, maybe two depending on how many courgetts you started with. Basically until the whole thing is reduced more or less into a mush. It doesn't look spectacular but it has caramelised and it tastes gorgeous. Add a good amount of parmesan, season and serve with some nice fresh pasta.
Courgette growers, do your worst...
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Courgette cake:
Ingredients
* 250g butter, nuked until soft
* 450g sugar
* 4 eggs
* 350g self raising flour
* 2 squirts lemon juice
* 1-3 tsp cinnamon (to taste, I used plenty)
* 2 tsp ground ginger
* 1/4 nutmeg, grated
* 350g courgette grated - large side of the grater is fine
* Handful of any dried fruit
Method
1. Grease and line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat an oven to 180°C (170°C for fan ovens).
2. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time while mixing until the eggs are well incorporated.
3. Mix the spices into the flour. Fold 1/3 of the flour into the batter, followed by 1 squirt of lemon juice, repeat this using the remaining flour and lemon, so that all the ingredients are well combined.
4. Stir in the courgette and fruit.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and place on the centre shelf of the preheated oven. Leave the cake to cook for about an hour and a half or until the cake has a decent crust. Turn the cake out on a rack and allow to cool.
It's delicious :P
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Let them grow into marrows. Hollow them out and wear them as hats.
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Let them grow into marrows. Hollow them out and wear them as hats.
Only works if you're a cat:
(http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/files/u1/cats.jpg)
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Courgette soup is one of my favorites, and very simple. Just fry bits of onions & courgettes (about 1/3 - 2/3) until 'translucent', as they say in cookbooks, add milk (not too much, it's nice to keep the soup thick) and some bouillon powder, salt and pepper, simmer for a bit, then blend. Yum.
I am intrigued by the cake, never heard of that before. OTOH if carrot and pumpkin then why not courgette. May have to give it a go as I'm a big fan of the other two :)
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My dad has always has tons of corgies to give away. I've taken to eating them raw. Probably a little incorrect, but I like 'em that way!
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Either raw in a salad with a nice raspberry vinegar dressing...
...or baked whole/in large chunks sprinkled with cumin seeds.
:P :P :P
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Let them grow into marrows. Hollow them out and wear them as hats.
Only works if you're a cat:
(http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/files/u1/cats.jpg)
That's a Pomelo skin, not a marrow rind.
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They're an essential ingredient in our chickpea couscous. Also in the beany ratatouille (coupled with aubergine). And we also slice and thread them onto skewers, along with other veg., tuna and prawns, for brochettes.
But quite honestly I think they're just as good just served up plain as a veg. And they're so easy to prepare and to cook.
Phil, I remember your courgette cake from a FNRTTC two years ago! :P :P :P And we tried the recipe. Superb! But we haven't got a very good crop this year.
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Take them off the plant when the flower is still attached (the courgette will only be about 1cm thick). Stuff the flower with brie, coat the whole thing in thin batter and deep fry.
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Dildo?
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Dildo?
I did wonder who would be the first to post that answer.
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/silverbackcyclist/smilies/clap.gif)(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/silverbackcyclist/smilies/clap.gif)
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I'm amazed it made page 2 before going NSFW.
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Have you got a compost bin? Adding to the compost mix is the only useful thing I can think of, but then again I do find courgettes and Aubergines :sick: :sick: :sick:
I was going to agree, they're both flavourless wastes of space... but then I saw Kirst's reply ;D
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I'm ignoring the filth.
We quite often roast them with other veg (onions, peppers, fennel, beetroot, aubergine - I know), loads of whole cloves of garlic and either harissa paste or herbs. The harissa ones go with couscous and chickpeas, the herby ones with feta and pittas.
They're also a pretty good addition to pickles and chutneys - piccalilli and so on.
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Dildo?
I realised after I'd hit "post" that the subject line was open to misinterpretation by those so inclined. ::-) Would you like me to post you one? They're rather large, as courgettes go :o
Thanks for lots of great ideas though, I particularly like ChrisN's very simple pasta idea and the courgette cake sounds intriguing too.
In response to nutty and tiermat, I don't dislike them but I think courgettes are basically a bit dull so they need something to add a bit of flavour to them.
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Dildo?
*hands Kirst a little medal for being Smutmeister of the week*
:D
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Well, frankly, I'm appalled.
Edit: :P
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Dildo?
Too late :'(
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Back on track a bit O:-)
As an ingredient in "ratatouille". Slice about 5mm thick (rounds) and fry both sides until well browned. Fry a couple of sliced onions, add a couple of cloves of sliced garlic, tip back the courgettes, add tinned toms to taste and some sprigs of fresh rosemary, simmer for half an hour. You can also add red/yellow pepper slices to the onion phase. I use a lidded saute pan to cook this. Makes a good accompaniament to proper grilled pork sausages.
Or one I tried last night - slice in half lengthways and put in a roasting tin, toss with olive oil, pepper, finely chopped garlic. Arrange cut face up, sprinkle generously with crumbled Feta chees and dried oregano, drizzle with a bit more oil and roast at 180C for about 30-40 mins. We served it with a green salad.
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*hands Kirst a little medal for being Smutmeister of the week*
:D
And it's only Wednesday! I don't think I've ever been so proud.
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Mush it up with some chick peas, lemon, tiddy bit of ginger, a bit of chilli and voila loverly humous :)
Or slice it up, dust it in chilli powder and chuck it on the grill. Yummy.
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Slice courgettes lengthwise, 5mm thick, and dip into a light beer batter, and deep fry until crisp, and softly golden. Don't over cook. Think of the translucent lace of gold, and the green of the courgette.
Serve with drained sheep milk yoghurt, seasoned, and flavoured with fresh dill and a little garlic.
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Slice courgettes lengthwise, 5mm thick, and dip into a light beer batter, and deep fry until crisp, and softly golden. Don't over cook. Think of the translucent lace of gold, and the green of the courgette.
Serve with drained sheep milk yoghurt, seasoned, and flavoured with fresh dill and a little garlic.
A similar dish was had in Greece (well on the island of kalymnos) of hot crisp fried aubergine slices and garlic "sauce". Fantastic.
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Aubergine parmigiana :thumbsup:
Make a well reduced tomato sauce with garlic, olive oil, passata and basil. Heat oil, fry garlic slowly with salt, add passata an basil. If you want to use oregano, do so sparingly. Flavours here are more delicate than a beef ragu or bolognese. Slice aubergines very thingly. Salt. Leave for 10 mins and dab dry. Flour them. Heat that mysterious substance "oil for frying", and deep fry the aubergines a few at a time. Lard is an incomparable choice if you're not a veggie. You could render some Italian lardo if you really wanted. Soak off the excess fat.
Layers of sauce, aubergine, good mozarella and good parmigianna reggiana. Bake until the cheese is melted, and it's in no danger of being watery. Unlikely to want any additional seasoning by this point.
Feel guilty and go running.
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... or cycling.
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Slice courgettes lengthwise, 5mm thick, and dip into a light beer batter, and deep fry until crisp, and softly golden. Don't over cook. Think of the translucent lace of gold, and the green of the courgette.
Serve with drained sheep milk yoghurt, seasoned, and flavoured with fresh dill and a little garlic.
A similar dish was had in Greece (well on the island of kalymnos) of hot crisp fried aubergine slices and garlic "sauce". Fantastic.
I love fried aubergine, but courgettes seem so much more lighter and elegant. As you realised, the recipe is Greek. It's one of those very simple dishes that can be magical, or impossibly disgusting, depending on the skills of the cook, and the quality of the ingredients.
The garlic sauce was probably skordalia (σκορδαλιά). It's very good with any fried stuff, especially simple things like marides. The recipes vary. Some use white bread, others potato, even more interesting is the light and sophisticated version using ground almonds.
I have a small book of recipes from Kalymnos. It's not in English. It includes some oddities. When I unpack, I will post some recipes. I will have to do some serious work on my vocabulary though!
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Back on track a bit O:-)
As an ingredient in "ratatouille". Slice about 5mm thick (rounds) and fry both sides until well browned. Fry a couple of sliced onions, add a couple of cloves of sliced garlic, tip back the courgettes, add tinned toms to taste and some sprigs of fresh rosemary, simmer for half an hour. You can also add red/yellow pepper slices to the onion phase. I use a lidded saute pan to cook this. Makes a good accompaniament to proper grilled pork sausages.
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I'm with Rafletcher good old Ratatouille served with Pasta and or any other meal of the week as a side order.
Also with other roast vegetables cover in olive oil garlic and herbs of choice and roast :thumbsup:
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The garlic sauce was probably skordalia (σκορδαλιά). It's very good with any fried stuff, especially simple things like marides. The recipes vary. Some use white bread, others potato, even more interesting is the light and sophisticated version using ground almonds.
I have a small book of recipes from Kalymnos. It's not in English. It includes some oddities. When I unpack, I will post some recipes. I will have to do some serious work on my vocabulary though!
Indeed the version we had was with breadcrumbs, and I too have a small cookbook from Kalymnos (well from one of the shops near Myrties anyway)
I really must get around to trying Stifado for myself, it's one of my favourites.
And this year we return to western Crete, and the house we are renting is a fair distance from the nearest taverna (up in the foothills of the White Mountains) but the original owners (who live nearby in their modern equivalent!) offer to provide meals, now that should be interesting!
On our last visit to the area we went to restaurant, and the "menu" was translated (well it didn't exist really) as "It's like your mothers, you eat what they've cooked". Always a good adventure.
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I made the cake last night. It's great! Really nice and fluffy. The amounts in the recipe didn't quite fit in my tin, so I had to make some cup cakes too, which worked really well.
:thumbsup:
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The garlic sauce was probably skordalia (σκορδαλιά). It's very good with any fried stuff, especially simple things like marides. The recipes vary. Some use white bread, others potato, even more interesting is the light and sophisticated version using ground almonds.
I have a small book of recipes from Kalymnos. It's not in English. It includes some oddities. When I unpack, I will post some recipes. I will have to do some serious work on my vocabulary though!
Indeed the version we had was with breadcrumbs, and I too have a small cookbook from Kalymnos (well from one of the shops near Myrties anyway)
I really must get around to trying Stifado for myself, it's one of my favourites.
And this year we return to western Crete, and the house we are renting is a fair distance from the nearest taverna (up in the foothills of the White Mountains) but the original owners (who live nearby in their modern equivalent!) offer to provide meals, now that should be interesting!
On our last visit to the area we went to restaurant, and the "menu" was translated (well it didn't exist really) as "It's like your mothers, you eat what they've cooked". Always a good adventure.
Next time you visit Kalymnos, stay at Emborios. Antonio Carluccio arrived as I was leaving. This was a not totally a surprise, as it is a quite primitive sort of place, by most people's standards (even on Kalymnos!) which would accord with his interests in traditional food.
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having a glut of them I decided to experiment with curgette curry, very nice it was too. I just chopped them up in big lumps, ditto with potatoes, added to fried onion, bunged some peas in, added loads of finely shreaded swizz chard, fried for a bit in squirt oil and balsamic vinegar, added, curry powder, garam masarla, chili powder, and chopped corriander leaf, some sultanas, added can of chopped toms, cover and low head for an hour and serve with rice or cous cous
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or as Ken Dodd said (don't blame me - I was only 7 at the time and forced to go along and see him by my parents - luckily I managed to phone the social services in the interval and was taken into care, much to my relief):
"What a gay day for shoving a marrow through your neighbour's letter box and shouting 'watch out here comes the incredible hulk'!"