Prepare for a courgette glut – recipe ideas

One of the highlights (?!) of August is the inevitable courgette glut that vegetable growers experience. Once they start cropping, they don’t seem to stop!  If this sounds familiar, here are some good recipe ideas for using up a courgette glut in the kitchen.

 

Courgette Chocolate Cake

  • 120g butter (at room temperature)
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 180g brown sugar
  • 125ml sunflower oil
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 120ml whole/semi skimmed milk
  • 350g self raising flour
  • 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 400g courgettes, grated

Put all the ingredients except the courgette into a mixer and mix until smooth. Then turn out into a mixing bowl and fold in the grated courgette. Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin (approx 25x25cm) and bake at 180c for 30-40 mins until a knife/skewer comes out clean when you insert it into the middle of the cake.

(Like the idea of cake? We have a couple of other recipes for courgette cakes in a separate article)

Cheesy Courgette Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 medium courgettes/summer squashes (or 1 marrow), chopped into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 medium onion, peeled & cut into wedges
  • 5-6 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
  • 1 potato, peeled & diced
  • Vegetable stock
  • 1 handful grated cheddar cheese

Method:

  1. Put the courgettes, garlic and onion into a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Put them into an oven at 180c-200c and roast for 20 mins or until softened.
  2. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pan and cover with vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and cook until the potatoes are cooked through and slide easily off a knife. Remove from the heat.
  3. Once the courgettes and onions are soft and starting to caramelise, take them out of the oven. Pick out the garlic cloves and, as soon as they are cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic from the skins and add to the pan of potatoes along with the courgettes and onions.
  4. Blend the mixture well. You may need to add a little extra veg stock to thin it out if it is too thick.
  5. Return the blended soup to a medium heat with the grated cheese. Stir until the cheese has completely melted and season to taste.

You could add a squeeze of lemon, and some freshly picked thyme or basil for extra flavour. Once the soup is cool you can freeze it or keep it in the fridge for a few days. It’s a really comforting soup, definitely one to bring out on a miserable grey day in late August/early September!

 

Other quick ideas for courgettes:

BBQ courgette with chilli, lemon & mint

Cut the courgette into 0.5cm thick slices and brush with oil. Cook on BBQ for 5 mins either side until you get nice BBQ griddle marks and the courgette is softened. Place the courgette slices onto a plate/serving dish, squeeze over a little lemon juice, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and some freshly chopped mint leaves with some sea salt. Delicious!

Roast Courgette Quesadillas

Roast courgettes in the oven until they have completely softened. Then mash with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mashed courgette over a tortilla wrap, sprinkle with grated cheese, and cover with another tortilla wrap. Dry fry for a couple of minutes each side and serve with a tomato salsa.

Ribbon Courgette Salad

Use a potato peeler to slice a couple of courgettes into long ribbons. Pop them in a mixing bowl, add a splash of olive oil, a generous squeeze of lemon, some chopped mint leaves and a pinch of sea salt. Toss the salad with rocket leaves and serve. You can grate parmesan over the top too, or sprinkle with pine nuts.

Courgette Frittata/Quiche

Slice up the courgettes, brush with a little oil and fry or grill until they start to brown and turn soft, then use them as the main veg ingredient in a frittata or quiche.

Raw Courgette Sticks with Hummus

If you haven’t yet tried courgette as a crudite, then give it a go – it’s a little less watery than cucumber, and brilliantly crunchy!


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