Courgettes Again

This is the time of year that the courgettes come in thick and fast from our allotment and I need to find new ways of using them up.  The photo above is today's harvest, so I made a hasty courgette risotto.


Risotto with Courgettes
Start off by cooking a finely sliced medium onion and 2 or 3 plump cloves of garlic, cut up small, in a little olive oil (you can use butter, but I have reluctantly foresworn it) and when the onion is translucent and not at all coloured, add to the pan 150g of arborio rice, stir it round until the rice is slicked with oil, then add in about 500g chopped courgettes. Now start to add hot, well seasoned stock, a ladleful at a time, giving it a regular stir as the liquid becomes absorbed into the rice.

When the rice is soft the courgettes will be cooked and it’s ready to serve, sprinkled with some grated cheese if you like.

You can cook the courgettes in the pan of stock as you are gradually adding it to the risotto if you’d rather.

Risotto with Courgettes

 

  

The following recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a real winner, which can even be frozen for later use in soup or pasta sauce.

Slow-cooked courgettes

I often (says HFW) cook courgettes like this - they lose most of their moisture and become a thick, fragrant, chunky mass. They can be used as a pasta sauce (just add a little cream) or the base for a lovely soup (just whizz up with a little stock and/or milk). But they also make a great toast topping - which of course the Italians would call bruschetta.

3 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1kg courgettes, finely sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the garlic, courgettes and a little salt. Cook gently, so the courgettes soften without browning. As they release their water, turn up the heat to bubble it off. When they become more concentrated and pulpy, turn it down again. Stir whenever they begin to catch on the pan, and do not allow them to brown more than a shade. Keep cooking until they are rich and oily, but not watery. Check seasoning.

We also like courgette in salad, cooked or uncooked (very thinly sliced).  Here is a recipe I have tried this week, which would have looked prettier with the recommended red chillies!

Courgette Salad with mint, garlic and chilli

My Kitchen Devil paring knife and this sort of potato peeler cut thin strips well.

Slice courgettes lengthwise very thinly, a mandolin is best, but a potato peeler works well. Toss the courgette strips in a little oil and griddle on a pan, or on the barbeque until just cooked, lay out on a large plate, season with salt and pepper and while they are still warm drizzle over some lemon juice and olive oil. Deseed and chop finely a red chilli and half a clove of garlic. (The amounts will be a matter of taste and depend on the number of courgettes you are using, but as a rough guide this would be enough for us using 4 medium size courgettes and a chilli of medium heat). Scatter the chilli and garlic evenly over the courgettes with some chopped fresh mint.

I see Sophie Grigson adds char-grilled red peppers to a similar salad.

Here are three other ideas, all on a similar theme.

Jane Grigson’s Sweet-Sour Courgettes, Sicilian style.

1kg courgettes                         1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil              2 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water                 30g pine kernels
30g sultanas                             8 anchovy fillets, chopped small
Salt and pepper


Cut the courgettes in strips . Cook the garlic slowly in the oil and after a couple of minutes add the courgette strips. Keep them moving until they are just beginning to colour. Pour in the vinegar and water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover, add the nuts, sultanas and anchovies and cook more rapidly until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Keep stirring so the courgettes are bathed in the sauce, check seasoning and eat with crusty bread.

Browned Courgettes, which are great just as they are, or with a little garlic cooked with them as a vegetable side dish.  They are quicker to cook if they are sliced into rounds, but these are ready to use in Jane Grigson's recipe.

 
 
Elizabeth David – Italian Food. Sweet-Sour Courgettes

Cook gently 1kg sliced courgettes in olive oil, using 2 pans if necessary. When they are nearly tender season with plenty of black pepper, a little powdered cinnamon, four tablespoons of wine vinegar and two tablespoons sugar and a little salt. Turn them over in the juices which should evaporate into a small amount of sauce.



Antonio Carluccio Fried Marinated Courgettes

6 medium courgettes, topped, tailed and cut into batons, quarter lengthways if not too big.

Olive oil for frying

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch of fresh chopped mint leaves

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Salt to taste.

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the courgettes in batches. Fry until brown and drain on absorbent paper.

Put the courgette batons in a dish, and add the extra virgin olive oil, mint, garlic, vinegar and salt, and leave for the flavours to combine before eating.

Jane Grigson's Sweet-Sour Courgettes - Sicilian Style