I've been feeling a bit ambivalent towards courgettes of late. I don't think I'm alone in this, but in my case it isn't because of a towering glut. Despite being told that courgettes are easy to grow, and that I'd end up with millions of the blighters, I managed to grow a courgette plant that not only didn't produce any fruit but then died inexplicably. Go, me!
So I went to see expert courgette grower Nigel Haworth, of Northcote Manor in Lancashire. I saw tiny courgettes with perfect yellow flowers arriving in the kitchen direct from the garden, and was filled with jealousy. Nigel then sent me to the Nag's Head in Haughton Moss, Cheshire, because they also grow vegetables with panache. I found myself scowling at their kitchen garden and gloriously productive courgette plants. I had the following dish for lunch, then stole the recipe to get them back for being show-offs.
Nigel Haworth's courgette, tomato and cheshire cheese bake
Serves two as a main course, four asa side.
4 medium courgettes, cut lengthways in thin slices
Olive oil
500ml passata
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
200ml Greek yoghurt
1 egg
100g grated cheese (Burts Blue and Bourne's Organic are good Cheshire options, but use any cheese you like)
Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Brush the courgettes with oil, then chargrill and season lightly. Build the dish in a skillet: start with a good layer of tomato passata in the base, top with a thin layer of red onions, and add a tightly packed layer of courgettes, sprinkled with oregano, salt and pepper. Repeat, and finish with a thin layer of passata. Mix the yoghurt and egg, season, then spoon on top of the passata. Cover with cheese, sprinkle with oregano and bake for 20 minutes until golden.
Courgette fries and cheddar mayonnaise
Potato and gluten-free flour will make the batter light and crisp, butyou can also use ordinary plain flour (just make sure the batter is mixed wellbefore using, because it separates quickly). The mayonnaise is addictive and is also great with chips, crudités, crisps or breadsticks. Serves six as a snack.
2 courgettes
For the batter
100g plain gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
130g rice flour
22g malt vinegar
145g vodka
130g beer
10g salt
For the cheese mayonnaise
2 egg yolks (use pasteurised yolks if raw egg is a concern)
50g strong cheddar-type cheese, such as Lincolnshire Poacher
18g English mustard
4g chives, chopped
4g tarragon, chopped
250ml sunflower oil
8g cider or white-wine vinegar
4g salt
Cut each courgette lengthways into six to eight wedges, then cut widthways into batons. Heat a deep-fat fryer to 180C. Mix the batter ingredients, then pass through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of lumps (do this in small batches – if you putit all into the sieve at once, it will clog up).
For the mayonnaise, put theeggyolks, cheese, mustard, chives and tarragon in a food processor. Blitz for a couple of minutes, then add the oil in a slowdrizzle and, once the oil has been emulsified, add the vinegar andsalt. Adjust the seasoning, coverand keep in the fridge untilrequired.
Dust the courgette batons with flour, then shake off any excess. Whisk the batter again, then drop in a handful of batons at a time. Using a fork or tongs, transfer the batons into the hot fat and fry for two to three minutes, until crisp andgolden. Drain on kitchen paperand transfer to a warm dish.Repeat until all batons are fried,then sprinkle with salt and serve immediately with themayonnaise.
Stuffed courgette flowers
Courgette flowers can be tricky to get hold of unless you grow your own, but you may strike lucky at a farmers' markets or top-notch greengrocer. These make a very pretty dish as a starter, and are also lovely as a garnish for risotto, pasta or roast lamb. Serves four as astarter, six as a side.
12 courgette flowers
125g Rosary goat's cheese (or other light, soft goat's cheese)
2 egg yolks
15g gluten-free or plain flour
7g cream
3g salt
High-quality olive oil
Check the courgette flowers for dirtor insects; gently brush off any you find.
Beat the cheese, egg yolks, flour, cream and salt to a paste – don't over mix or it will separate. Fill the bell-shaped end of each courgette flower with the cheese mix, then gently twist the petals toseal.
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Turn down to a gentle simmer and poach the flowers in batches for three to four minutes. Season lightly and sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil. Eatimmediately.
Courgette puree
This is a great way to deal with courgette gluts. It can be made in big batches and frozen in smallfreezer bags for later use. Thepuree is nice as a garnish in itself, especially with roast chickenor fish, but it does need generous seasoning. A few other ideasfor using it follow.
4 courgettes, peeled
100g butter or olive oil
Cut the courgettes into thin slices. Heat the fat in a large frying pan, and sweat the courgettes gently in the fat until most of the water has evaporated. Leave to cool slightly, then puree in a food processor for 10-15 minutes, until very smooth.
The puree will keep for up to three days in the fridge and for several months in the freezer.
What to do with courgette puree
Add a few spoonfuls toarisotto at the end of the cooking, to add a delicate flavour and a pretty colour.
Grate a lot of parmesan cheese, toast a few pine nuts, mix with a few spoonfuls of puree and stir the mixture into just cooked pasta. Add cubes of fried pancetta or chorizo, too, if you like.
Add to chicken or vegetable stock, with seasoning, to make courgette soup. Serve with crumbled goat's cheese and truffle oil or a slick of good olive oil; chopped chives and grated nutmeg also work well.
Take about 200g of puree and add a couple of eggs and 75g crème fraîche. Whisk, season well, then tip into a 20-25cm savoury tart case and bake at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 30-40 minutes, until it wobbles slightly in the middle. Serve warm or cold with a green salad. Add grated cheese, thyme, rosemary and cured meat, astakes yourfancy.
