With it being such a wet summer, many plants have gone mad with their production - especially my neighbours’ courgettes that turn into giant marrows over night. Mine are not producing quite so copiously - thank goodness - but still are providing a steady supply. I have frozen lots of grated and squeezed courgettes for making into fritters and adding to lots of dishes over winter. But with still a large supply of courgettes, it was time to make some Courgette Relish. 4 cups finely chopped … [Read more...]
Baked Stuffed Courgette Flowers
I love this recipe for courgette or zucchini flowers because you bake the flowers rather than frying them and they nestle in a bed of really tasty rice. 8 baby courgettes, with flowers 4 sprigs of fresh mint 150 g fresh or frozen peas 100 g labneh or other soft cheese 50 g hard cheese (optional) 1 lemon 400 g ripe cherry tomatoes 4 spring onions 8 black olives 1 fresh red chilli 2 cloves of garlic olive oil red wine vinegar 300 g basmati rice Put the mint leaves, peas and … [Read more...]
Courgette Slice Recipe
I love this Courgette Slice Recipe! It is a fantastic way to use up your glut of summer courgettes (or zucchini) - and tomatoes. You can vary the flavour by using different herbs, using your favourite types of cheeses and I added a few rashers of chopped bacon to mine as well. You can freeze grated courgettes in small bags so that they are easy to use in winter - I squeeze them lightly in a cloth to remove most of the liquid and freeze them in 1 cup batches. 3 cups grated courgettes, … [Read more...]
Stuffed Courgettes with Herbs & Pine Nuts Recipe
In mid summer, harvesting your vegetables can easily get away on you. I've previously shared a Stuffed Marrow Recipe that is great for using up courgettes (or zucchini) that have got too large all of a sudden. This Stuffed Courgettes with Herbs & Pine Nuts recipe is a very tasty alternative and great to make with smaller, more tender courgettes (that are still large enough to be worthwhile stuffing. This combination is great but you can swap out whatever herbs you have for the oregano; swap … [Read more...]
Stuffed Courgette Flowers with Pea & Ricotta filling
Courgettes (or zucchinis) seem to do well in my garden so I'm always in search of different recipes to use them during the summer glut. I love using the flowers as well - the bright yellow petals look so good with the green of the courgettes. I have tried a few different recipes for Stuffed Courgette Flowers, one that was boiled (Stuffed Zucchini Flowers) and another that was fried (Crispy Zucchini Flowers stuffed with Herbed Ricotta). This Stuffed Courgette Flowers recipe comes from Jamie … [Read more...]
Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe
I had such a great harvest of eggplants last summer, so have been trying all sorts of different recipes to use them. This classic northern Italian Eggplant Parmigiana Recipe is one of my favourites. You can serve it with a salad as a vegetarian main dish or use it as a side vegetable dish with meats. I baked and froze slices of eggplant to use to make this recipe over the winter months. You can use courgettes or fennel instead of the eggplants and top with mozzarella cheese if you … [Read more...]
Courgette & Haloumi Fritters
Fritters are such a great dish to whip up for a weekend lunch or brunch, or to have in the freezer to take for lunches. These Courgette & Haloumi Fritters are a nice alternative to my favourite corn fritters. During the summer glut of courgettes (also known as zucchini), I grate them into bags and store them in the freezer to use throughout the year. For this recipe you can use whatever combination of fresh green herbs you have available - lemon basil and mint is a lovely fresh, zingy … [Read more...]
Vegetable Bubble and Squeak
This recipe is based on the traditional 'bubble and squeak' where all your leftovers are cooked up together to make a tasty meal the next day. I never have that many leftovers of things that would be suitable but this dish is so tasty that it is worth cooking everything especially for it. You can mix up the different ingredients depending on what you have in the fridge or garden at the time. If you are careful when you turn it out from the pan you can create an amazing looking dish that can … [Read more...]
Quesadillas with Courgette Flowers
There is a special synchronicity when many of your passions coincide. This recipe for Quesadillas with Courgette Flowers brings together my interests in travelling and experiencing different cultures, growing my own fruits and vegetables, cooking fresh tasty food straight from the garden and enjoying my backyard haven. I was reading Rick Stein's book "The Road to Mexico" and reminiscing about my trip to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize 3 years ago, whilst sitting in my new outdoor area enjoying a … [Read more...]
Stuffed Marrow Recipe
Summer for me always means a good supply of courgettes or zucchinis in the garden. But if it rains as much as it has this summer, the courgettes will start turning into marrows if you don't check them often enough and all the other vegetables will be producing copiously. This stuffed marrow recipe is a tasty way of using the summer glut of vegetables. You could stuff them with a mince mixture or add chorizo sausage to spice up the recipe, but I like the herb, tomato and mushroom flavour and the … [Read more...]