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Posts Tagged ‘Courgettes’

This is a really simple courgette side dish. Don’t worry about cooking the courgettes at the last minute as they taste just as good at room temperature, so cook them a little in advance.

Fried courgettes – to serve 6

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 courgettes, sliced
  • ½ red chilli, sliced into rings
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • handful parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the courgettes for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown.

Add the chilli and garlic and fry for a further minute. Season with salt, then toss with the parsley and serve.

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Really good spuds!

We cooked these recently and took pics, as always, so we could post the recipe on the blog later. Only to find out that we have in fact cooked them before and blogged the recipe also. So we would like to reiterate that this is a very nice way to cook potatoes. We also recommend that you make a little note beside every recipe you do so you don’t forget that you’ve made it before and whether or not you liked it. We almost always do this but clearly forgot this time. You can get the recipe here.

A great accompaniment to potatoes and steak were these courgettes from Johnny and Vivienne’s garden which barbecued superbly, especially with the lemon halves which contribute a caramel zing.

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Apologies to any of you that don’t like courgettes but as long as people keep donating us homegrown ones we’re going to keep on cooking them.

This dish is based on courgettes, onions and garlic and it’s so tasty that you can’t tell it’s low fat. The recipe is to serve 8 (to serve buffet-style) but we just cooked half and it worked well.

The original recipe suggested side dishes of tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. We had some new potatoes to use up so we roasted them with a bit of oil and some herbs from the garden.

Chicken saute with courgettes and garlic – to serve 8 (easily halved)

  • 8 x chicken breast fillets
  • 8-10 small courgettes – we used a giant one
  • 2 onions
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 2 red chillies
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 50g butter
  • juice of 2 small limes
  • lime wedges, to serve
  1. Cut the chicken into 1cm thick strips and the courgettes into 1cm thick slices on an angle. Slice the onions finely and separate into rings. Slice the garlic very finely. Deseed the chillies and shred finely.
  2. Heat a large frying pan or a heavy roasting tin on the hob. Add the oil and sauté the onions and courgettes until golden brown – you might have to do this in a few batches. Season and transfer to a plate.
  3. Add the butter to the frying pan. When it sizzles, sauté the chicken strips in batches until golden brown all over. Add them all back to the pan together and cook for another minute before seasoning and adding the onions, courgettes and sliced garlic.
  4. Keep cooking for another few minutes until everything is almost tender, then add the lime juice, and check the seasoning. Scatter over the chillies and serve with lime wedges.
(Original recipe by Gary Rhodes for BBC Good Food Magazine July 2003)

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… they always need help eating them. According to Johnny and Vivienne Mitchell, this courgette season is so good in Dublin that they can’t keep up. We were the lucky recipients of this courgette and another one so far – yay!

Courgette, basil & almond pasta – to serve 2 

  • 175g/6oz orecchiette pasta
  • 2 tbsp toasted blanched almonds (we only had flaked almonds so we toasted these and they did the job)
  • 2 small or 1 medium courgette (or a chunk off a massive one)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • large bunch basil
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 rounded tbsp grated parmesan
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the instructions on the pack.

Meanwhile, finely chop the almonds, chop the courgette into small chunks, crush the garlic and pick the basil leaves from the stalks.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the courgette for a few minutes until it starts to soften, then add the garlic and half the basil and cook for another minute.

Drain the pasta and add it to to the courgettes, along with the almonds, the rest of the basil, the parmesan, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Toss everything together and serve with extra parmesan.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

 

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We came across this while searching for inspiration on how to use some courgettes and feta cheese that had been lurking in the fridge since the weekend. It was really tasty, very quick and cheap to make (even if you don’t happen to have any courgettes and feta in the fridge). All we had to buy today was some salad leaves and ciabatta bread to go with it. Perfect summer fare for a weeknight.

Courgette & bean bake with feta – to serve 4 (easy to half)

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 courgettes, halved lengthways and sliced into half moons
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp chopped oregano
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 x 410g tins cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 200g pack feta
  • crusty bread and salad to serve
  1. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the courgettes for 5 minutes or until golden. Stir in the garlic and half of the oregano and cook for 30 seconds before gently folding in the tomatoes and beans. Heat through for about 4 minutes. Season to taste, then heat the grill to medium.
  2. Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish. Crumble over the feta, drizzle with the remaining oil, then grill for 5 minutes until the cheese has turned golden brown. Sprinkle with the rest of the oregano and serve with crusty bread and salad.
Wine Suggestion: Stick to the summer theme with a glass of rosé – we recommend the 2010 Chateau de L’Engarran from the Languedoc (€13.95 from Mitchell & Son). Perfectly dry and fresh; a great accompaniment to food.
(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, June 2009).

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This is a good everyday recipe and a really nice way to cook boring old skinless boneless chicken breasts.  We’re hoping the leftovers will make nice lunch boxes for tomorrow too.

Chicken with lemon and courgette couscous – to serve 4

  • 200g couscous
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 courgettes, grated
  • 2 lemons, 1 halved, 1 cut in wedges
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Put the couscous into a large bowl and pour over the stock. Cover and leave for 10 minutes, until the stock has been absorbed.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the courgettes until softened and starting to crisp at the edges. We used very big courgettes which gave out loads of water – it this happens just drain the water off in a colander and put the courgettes back in the pan to crisp up a little.

Tip the courgettes into the couscous and stir in plenty of seasoning and a good squeeze of lemon juice from one of the halves.

Halve the chicken breasts horizontally and put them on sheets of cling film. Cover with another sheet and beat them out with a rolling pin to make them thinner. We had escalopes in the freezer which worked well without bashing. Season.

Heat the other tbsp of oil in a large pan and fry the chicken for 2 minutes on each side. Squeeze over the juice from the other half lemon and serve with couscous and lemon wedges.

Hardly any fat or calories which can’t be bad either.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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