Call 'em courgettes, call 'em zucchini, call 'em what you will, but we've got 'em! We've hit that point in summer when you suddenly think, "hmm, at this rate, by next week we may be drowned in a sea of zucchini". This thought is usually followed by, "why the hell don't I ever remember how much each plant produces?!" This year (it having been a while since I grew any) I planted two varieties and three of each kind. Six plants in total (plus the 20-odd bean plants, the 5 tomatoes and umpteen brocolli and cavolo nero plants). Two of the courgies have been producing fairly regularly for a few weeks, but are really upping the ante at the moment, and the others are just starting to bear fruit. Both are lovely varieties - I got them from this lovely seed-saving catalogue which sells only plants which it knows will grow well in Britain (tune into a later post for my tomato harvest!! First ripe one to be picked tomorrow...an exciting day!). One is a normal courgette - an Italian green variety which is sweet and gorgeous. The other is a patty pan (summer squash?) and it's a whiteish French heirloom variety. See how pretty?
However, for all that they do tend to become an over-prolific blight towards the end of summer, I do love them and can easily eat them with every meal. But you do have to get a bit creative. I suspect (given that there's still a lot of courgette season left and the plants are only kicking into high gear now) that my courgette chocolate cake will make several appearances later this year! (if i haven't already, I will post that recipe next time I make it!) But tonight, I felt like something super simple for dinner and pasta with courgette seemed like an excellent idea. I didn't really fancy anything creamy or dense so it was very basic.
Summer Spaghetti with Courgette/Zucchini
2 courgettes (or a mix of courgettes/zucchini and patty-pans)
1 very large clove of garlic
big glug of olive oil (I used my friends' family's stuff for extra Italian charm! Yum!)
salt
freshly grated parmesan, to taste (I like a lot; Andrew's not such a fan so I added extra for mine)
basil (although I did also contemplate mint...the basil was on the windowsill though, so it won out)
courgette flowers if you have them
spaghetti or linguine
Cook the pasta and in a fry-pan, heat the oil then add the vege (I julienned mine in the food processor lengthwise so I had long thin strips. You could grate it if you don't have a food processor) and garlic. Add salt to bring out the moisture and softly saute until it is cooked but still bright green and with some texture (some of it will break down, other bits will hold their shape). Take off the heat and add a good handful of parmesan and the herbs. Throw in the pasta and a glug more oil and mix. Done.
I felt like being fancy with the flowers so ours had extra garnish (which tasted great!).
It was deemed very Italian by the other half - something, he said, like his room-mate when he lived in Italy, Salvatore, used to cook for him. I'd deem that a success! Buono!
Post-script: In the interests of actually getting some photos of food on here, I've taken to using my phone to take photos. This means the pics won't always be particularly good or arty, but I figure it's better than not having any! Trade off...
 |
| Pretty courgettes picked this afternoon. I picked twice this many yesterday so this lot grew overnight. Also some beans - I have 2 kinds of them as well |
However, for all that they do tend to become an over-prolific blight towards the end of summer, I do love them and can easily eat them with every meal. But you do have to get a bit creative. I suspect (given that there's still a lot of courgette season left and the plants are only kicking into high gear now) that my courgette chocolate cake will make several appearances later this year! (if i haven't already, I will post that recipe next time I make it!) But tonight, I felt like something super simple for dinner and pasta with courgette seemed like an excellent idea. I didn't really fancy anything creamy or dense so it was very basic.
Summer Spaghetti with Courgette/Zucchini
2 courgettes (or a mix of courgettes/zucchini and patty-pans)
1 very large clove of garlic
big glug of olive oil (I used my friends' family's stuff for extra Italian charm! Yum!)
salt
freshly grated parmesan, to taste (I like a lot; Andrew's not such a fan so I added extra for mine)
basil (although I did also contemplate mint...the basil was on the windowsill though, so it won out)
courgette flowers if you have them
spaghetti or linguine
Cook the pasta and in a fry-pan, heat the oil then add the vege (I julienned mine in the food processor lengthwise so I had long thin strips. You could grate it if you don't have a food processor) and garlic. Add salt to bring out the moisture and softly saute until it is cooked but still bright green and with some texture (some of it will break down, other bits will hold their shape). Take off the heat and add a good handful of parmesan and the herbs. Throw in the pasta and a glug more oil and mix. Done.
I felt like being fancy with the flowers so ours had extra garnish (which tasted great!).
It was deemed very Italian by the other half - something, he said, like his room-mate when he lived in Italy, Salvatore, used to cook for him. I'd deem that a success! Buono!
Post-script: In the interests of actually getting some photos of food on here, I've taken to using my phone to take photos. This means the pics won't always be particularly good or arty, but I figure it's better than not having any! Trade off...
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