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Posts Tagged ‘Zucchini’

Courgettes with Parsley

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 10 August 2020| Leave a Comment »

Courgette Trifolate

We can’t be the only people living on courgettes at the minute. Not that we’re complaining, we love looking out for different things to do with them which is how we came across this little side dish by Jacob Kennedy. The cooking method is a bit different but the result is delicious, the lesser cooked bits taste really strongly of courgettes and you also get some browned pieces with a deeper flavour.

Courgettes with Parsley – serves 4 as a side

  • 600g courgettes
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • a tiny pinch of crushed dried chilli flakes
  • about 20g of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Thinly slice the courgettes, 3-5mm.

Get out a large, wide frying pan.  It needs to be big enough to hold the courgettes no more than 2-3 layers deep.

Heat the pan until really smoking or at least very, very hot. Add all of the courgettes and shake the pan to settle them, leave for 30 seconds.

Drizzle over the oil and sprinkle with salt but don’t stir yet. Continue to cook for another 30 seconds, then add the garlic, chilli and some black pepper. Toss once, so the courgettes on the bottom are pretty much on the top and the garlic and chilli underneath. Leave for 15 seconds, then shake the pan and cook for another 15 seconds. Sprinkle with parsley and toss a few times to mix, then remove from the heat. Leave in the pan for a further minute to finish cooking, then serve hot or at room temperature.

(Original recipe from Bocca Cookbook by Jacob Kennedy, Bloomsbury, 2011.)

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Courgette Risotto

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Italian, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 11 September 2017| Leave a Comment »

Courgette RisottoWe loved this simple risotto with toasted pine nuts and little pieces of fried courgette. Definitely special enough to serve to friends for dinner.

Wine Suggestion: this risotto demands a waxy, nutty white and what better than an excellent Soave made by Graziano Pra. His Soave Classico “Otto” is fresh and a delight with jasmine and hawthorn aromas, but if you can step up to the “Monte Grande” cuvée then you get extra depth and greater layers of almonds and nuts that complement the pine nuts perfectly.

Courgette Risotto – serves 3-4

  • 50g butter, plus a bit extra to finish
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 250g courgettes, 140g coarsely grated, dice the rest
  • 175g risotto rice
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 1.2 litres of veg stock (or chicken stock) kept hot over a low heat
  • 25g parmesan, grated
  • 2 heaped tbsp mascarpone
  • 1 heaped tbsp toasted pine nuts

Melt the butter in a heavy frying pan then gently fry the onions until softened. Stir in the grated courgettes and the rice, then increase the heat and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and a ladleful of the hot stock. Stir continuously over a medium-high heat. Keep stirring until the liquid is almost absorbed, then add another ladleful of stock. Continue like this for until the rice is just tender and has a creamy texture, about 20-30 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone and some salt and black pepper, then cover with a lid and set aside for 5 minutes while you fry rest of the courgettes.

Heat the rest of the butter with a splash of oil in a small frying pan. Add the diced courgettes and fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes until golden & softened. Divide the risotto between plates, then scatter with the diced courgettes and any buttery juice from the pan, the pine nuts & a few pinches of lemon zest.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Baked Courgettes & Minced Pork

Posted in Food, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 23 September 2013| 2 Comments »

We have just moved into yet another new house but this time it is ‘our’ new house as opposed to another rental. The result has been lots of painters, plumbers, builders etc. and very little cooking. We’ve now got the most important room in the house (the kitchen!) sorted and are very glad to be eating proper food again.

This was the last thing we cooked in our flat before packing up the saucepans. We had a generous donation of an enormous courgette (not quite a marrow but a marrow would work just as well in the recipe) from a friend of Julie’s Mum. Very tasty and there and should still be a few enormous courgettes kicking about in allotments and veg patches for you to get your hands on.

Wine Suggestion: Look out for some of the better cru Beaujolais at a good wine shop. They’re completely underrated and overlooked (due to the scourge of “Beaujolais Nouveau”) and quite delicious. We drank a Regnie from Domaine Rochette which has that delightful balance of light and easy fruit as well as a seriousness, structure and verve. Yum.

Baked Courgette & Minced Pork – to serve 2

  • 750g large courgettes
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • a handful of mint leaves
  • olive oil
  • juice of half a lemon

FOR THE PORK: 

  • a small handful of dill, roughly chopped
  • a small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2 small, hot, red chillies, finely chopped
  • 450g minced pork
  • grated zest and juice of a lime

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

Halve the courgettes and scoop out the seedy bits. Cut into thick chunks and toss in a roasting tin with the crushed garlic, mint, plenty of olive oil and the lemon juice. Bake for  about 45 minutes or until tender.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a shallow pan until smoking hot, then add the meat. Leave to sear on one side without stirring, turning or breaking up. When the bottom has crisped up, turn over and brown the other side. Add the dill, parsley, garlic and chilli and let the mixture cook over a high heat until everything is hot and golden. Season generously with salt and pepper, then stir in the lime juice and zest.

Serve with the baked courgette.

(Original recipe from Nigel Slater’s Tender: Volume 1, Fourth Estate, 2009.)

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