rebeccariots2 wrote:
Mr Riots was served the quickest vegetable stir fry in history - in which courgettes were the central feature - heavily spiced up with ginger, garlic and all the rest. Gobbled down.
I will be trying out the FTN recipe suggestions in the very near future - courgettes are still romping away in the greenhouse.
(We've got the same glut problem with cucumbers. I've held back from trying a very dubious recipe for cucumber 'ragou' which I spotted in an online newspaper the other day. Need to be feeling super adventurous and brave for that one.)
Courgettes -
1. Courgette "pasta": best with young ones that aren't too watery - make long slices of courgette using a mandolin or peeler; cook in boiling water for about 2 minutes, drain. Serve with a thick cheesy sauce, and pretend it's papardelli.
2. Courgette Imam Bayildi - big fat nearly marrow ones for this, usually made with aubergines. Recipes everywhere on the web; the name means "The Imam swooned" (probably because of the amount of olive oil needed)
3. Not-quite-lime pickle - 2 limes, chopped - salt them overnight (or for a few days if you can wait) with 2 tablespoons of salt.
Cut 2 firm courgettes into small pieces, salt them and drain overnight; rinse them when you assemble the pickle.
Cook 2 teaspoons of mustard seeds, 4 chopped cloves of garlic, an inch-square piece of fresh ginger chopped, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, half a teaspoon of turmeric, and half a teaspoon (more if you like it hot) in oil for about 5 minutes. Add the courgettes, and bung in 150ml water, 120g dark brown sugar, 50ML spirit vinegar, and the lime mixture (don't rinse it, you need the salt. Let the whole thing simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes till it thickens a bit. Season to taste (shouldn't need it)
Put in sterilised jars, and try not to eat any for 2 weeks. Nice with rice and dhal.
Cucumber -
Soup and/or raita/tzatziki: peel and grate as many cukes as you've got. Bung in a bowl with a teaspoon of salt per cuke. Leave for an hour, then scoop the lot into a colander lined with muslin (or a J-cloth) and leave to drain overnight. This gets rid of a lot of the water.
What's left can be frozen - it won't go as sloppy as "untreated" cucumber.
Soup - 2-3 cukes, 6 scallions (spring onions), 2 medium potatoes; chop it all up (don't peel the cukes) and sweat in olive oil for about 5 minutes; add 2 pints vegetable stock and simmer for about 30 minutes. You can mash it or liquidise it, and season to taste.
You can serve this hot or cold, with a bit of sour cream and some herbs.
For raita, mix the cuke with plain thin yogurt, add some fresh chopped mint and a pinch of sugar; for tzatziki, crush a clove of garlic, and add the cuke and some very thick Greek yogurt, and a bit of salt
You can also make your own skin cleansers from cucumber - lots of recipes online.