No, nothing naughty here, just some courgette recipes!!
Courgettes Gratin
Grate your courgettes. Place them in a non-stick frying pan on a fairly high heat until most of the inherant water from the vegetables has come out and reduced down.
Add a crumbled vegetable stock cube and what I call a ‘sploosh’ of double cream, and then spoon into a casserole dish.
Sprinkle with some strong cheddar cheese and bake in the oven til the cheese melts. I normally finish it off for five mins under the grill so the cheese gets crispy. If I have any breadcrumbs around I sometimes sprinkle them on top before I do the cheese layer.
Courgette Dumplings
- 8 tbsp of SR flour (white or wholemeal) or 8 tbsp plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 courgettes, grated.
- salt and pepper to taste
- I sometimes add a tsp of curry or chilli powder depending on what kind of dish I am cooking them with but you can miss this out if you just want plain.
- salt and pepper to taste
Add the flour and seasoning to the grated courgette, and mix with a few teaspoons of cold water til you have a soft dough. Make the dough into eight balls and place on top of the stew or mince dish and cook over a low heat for about 20 mins or until the balls are cooked.
Courgette and Cheese Soup
- 1 lb courgettes, trimmed and sliced
- 1 large onion, (also from garden if you are lucky!!) peeled and chopped
- 1 litre vegetable stock (veg stock cubes in boiling water works fine)
salt and black pepper - 6 oz garlic and herb cheese (not sure if I can mention makes but I sometimes spoil myself and use the famous french one or the one named after an american city!)
- 150ml single cream
Place the courgettes and onion in a large saucepan with the stock. Allow to come to the boil and then lower the heat. Cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for around 20 minutes or until the courgettes are soft.
Sieve or puree the soup with a stick blender or food processor.
Rinse out the saucepan and then spoon the cream cheese into it. Mix with a wooden spoon until soft while adding spoonfuls of the pureed soup until it is all added.
Place back on the heat, and reheat the soup gently, stirring constantly til almost at boiling point and then add the cream and heat through without boiling so the cream does not seperate. Add seasoning to taste.
