Courgette or zucchini is a small summer squash. It belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo. Courgette is the more commonly used name in France, Ireland, Britain, South Africa and the Netherlands while zucchini is it more popular name in Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and North America. Courgette is usually yellow, light green or green and has a shape similar to a cucumber. There are a few variations where the cultivars produce bottle shaped or round fruit.
Corn Courgette:
Ingredients Required:
- 3 tablespoon/45ml butter
- 3 tablespoon/20g flour
- 1 ¼ cups/300ml milk
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoon/15-30ml finely chopped parsley
- 2 1/3 cups/400g corn kernels, cooked
- 2 egg yolks
Ingredients for the Coating:
- 2 eggs, beaten
- seasoned flour
- fine stale breadcrumbs
- oil for frying
Procedure:
- Step One: To make the sauce, cut the butter into small pieces and melt in a heavy-bottomed pan. Stir in the flour and cook for 5 minutes until the combination is a pale gold.
- Step Two: Remove from the heat and pour in the milk. Mix well, turn on to the heat and mix until the sauce become thick. Season with salt and plenty of pepper.
- Step Three: Stir the parsley, corn kernels and egg yolks into the mixture.
- Step Four: The mixture should have a heavy dropping consistency. Form it into croquettes. Dip each in the beaten egg, and then roll in the flour and breadcrumbs.
- Step Five: Fry the croquettes in oil until crisp.
Courgettes with Dill:
Ingredients Required:
- ¼ cup/60mi olive oil
- 2 tablespoon/25g butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic, crushed
- 450g courgettes topped, tailed and sliced in somewhat thick rounds
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon/l0ml paprika
- 1 tablespoon/15ml dill, chopped (not the stalks)
- 1 small tub soured cream
Procedure:
- Step One: Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan. Cook the onion and garlic gently until soft. Turn the heat up.
- Step Two: Add the courgettes, garlic and black pepper, and toss.
- Step Three: Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring to cook both sides of the courgette slices.
- Step Four: When browning, add the paprika, dill and soured cream. Season and serve.
Courgette Gratin
Ingredients Required:
- oil
- 4 large/450g courgettes, sliced
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 ¾ cups/425g canned tomatoes
- chopped basil, thyme or marjoram
- sliver lemon peel
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup/225g macaroni
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup/150ml yoghurt
- ¾ cup/75g grated Cheddar cheese
Procedure:
- Step One: Heat the oil and fry the courgettes until they are lightly colored. Remove them from the pan and reserve. Add onions and fry until it turns golden, mixing more oil if required. Add the lemon peel, salt, pepper, tomatoes, herbs and boil for 10 minutes. Break up the tomatoes and stir from time to time.
- Step Two: Simultaneously, cook the macaroni and remove the water well. Put it into an ovenproof dish.
- Step Three: Pour the sauce over the macaroni and mix it thoroughly well. Lay the cooked courgettes on top. Mix the eggs, yoghurt and the cheese, and spread the cmbination over the courgettes. Scatter the remaining cheese on top.
- Step Four: Bake the dish at 375oF/190oC/Gas 5 for 30 minutes.
Tip:
You could use aubergines instead of courgettes, in which case slice and salt them. Leave them to drain for 20 minutes, rinse and dry them and proceed as above.
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