Courgette time again!!

[prison break fan]

I am innundated with the bloomin' things. Someone "dumped" 6 plants on my doorstep and I hadn't the heart to throw them away, so together with my own 6!!! I am being strong and composting some of them and have grated and frozen quite a lot, stuffed the round yellow ones - not bad - made bread, fritters and am about to try a chocolate and courgette cake. I know I ask the same question every year, but each year we have new ishers and fresh ideas, so anything welcome! please pbf. don't suggest the neighbours, they are avoiding me!! pbf.

[boboff]

Mine are rotting off at the minute!

Think yourself lucky.

I have a plan to make curried apple & Courgette & Runner bean chutney, with Nasturtium flowers..... but.... wet....damp....mouldy flowers! It's the yellow one I am growing, so hope the chutney will not go the way of normal chutneys and end up Feacal Brown in colour!

[Millymollymandy]

I have more than enough with just 2 plants. I think composting is the only way to go, unless you have chooks which like them (mine don't).

There are lots of lovely sweet cakes you can make with them (recipes on this site) and there's a fantastic savoury cake recipe I got from this site last year.... I'll repost it here as it's easier to cut and paste than search for it. This one is a godsend and we have had it quite a lot!

COURGETTE SAVOURY CAKE

150 g flour (5 oz)
200 g bacon bits (7 oz)
400 g grated skinned courgette (14 oz)
1 sliced onion
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of oil
2 or 3 tablespoons of milk
100 g grated cheese (4 oz) (Cheddar, Gruyere or even goat cheese)


Fry the bacon in a little oil. Once they are well fried, dry them on some kitchen paper towel. Then fry the onion until golden brown. Leave to cool.

Put the flour in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.
Make a well in the middle and put the oil and the eggs in. Mix slowly until you obtain a smooth mixture. Add the milk and mix again. Add the grated courgette gradually while you keep on mixing. Finally add the bacon, the onion followed by the cheese.

Grease a round cake tin, pour in the cake mixture and put in a hot oven. Temperature: 180 °C, 350 °F. Cook for 1 hour.

Once the cake is cooked, turn it out on a dish. It is ready to serve hot or warm accompanied with a salad.

We like it luke warm and then cold the next day - it's brilliant picnic food. Can use Feta cheese too.

Also there is this sweet cake I got from Bonniegirl which I have yet to try, but will do soon.

Quick and easy courgette and cardamom cake

Time: 1.5hrs mins
Serves: 8

1 large zucchini grated - then spread out on handle towel and excess moisture squeezed out.
100g caster sugar
100g butter and extra to grease baking tin
100g runny honey
3 large eggs - beaten
1 heaped tsp cardamom powder
Zest and juice of 1 limes
325g self rising flour
75g ground almonds
3 tbsp Greek yoghurt

For icing
100g icing sugar
100g cream cheese
Zest and juice of lime
75g butter - softened

For garnish
2 tbsp finely chopped pistachio nuts
Zest of 1 lime

Method

Preset oven to 180degC.
Cooking time 1 hour and around 20 minutes

Line with baking paper a large loaf tin.

Cream sugar and butter until pale, then beat in honey and eggs. Fold in ground cardamom, zest and juice of 1 lime, flour, zucchini, and almonds. Stir in yoghurt.

Pour into loaf tin and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

Cool cake in tin.

Beat icing sugar and remaining butter until smooth. Mix in cream cheese, and juice of lime. Ice cake then garnish with lime zest and pistachio nuts.

[Green Aura]

Here you go Susie, a recipe for those monsters lurking at the bottom of your garden

Monster marrow cream
Ingredients
9 lb 7oz of flesh, chopped and boiled in a splash of water
1 lb of butter (that’s two 250g blocks)
800 g sugar (908g is 2lb)
9 lemons (4 real ones and 5 lemons worth of bottled juice where 3tbsp=1 lemon)

Instructions
Peel and core the marrow, weigh out and then boil the cut up flesh with a dash of water until it is soft (or cook slowly without water or a small knob of the butter). Strain well and beat to a pulp or blitz in a blender. (Leave for a further 10 minutes to drain through a colander – you’ll be surprised how much more water comes out).

Put into a pan with the sugar, butter, zest and juice of the lemons. Boil slowly for 45 mins then jar it and use as a spread or filling for tarts etc.

Found it on t'interweb somewhere, so thanks to author. I've not tried it but it sounds like a cross between marrow jam and lemon curd. Both of which I'm quite partial to

[prison break fan]

Thankyou so much everyone. I like the sound of the savoury cake. I think I shall make that for lunch today. I went down the plot and picked 12 today! I have to stay in today to await a delivery, so shall do some cooking, but I think composting is the only way. I am frightened of marrows!!! Boboff, sorry about yours, you are a bit too far away to share mine! pbf.

[julie_lanteri]

what about tourte de courges? (like a courgette pie)
cook the cougettes in a little olive oil. For the filling: mix some cooked rice -it will absorb extra water and give some texture, cooked courgettes, grated parmesan, salt pepper (now is time to taste and tweak quantities), then add an egg or two. Roll pastry into two disks, spoon the filling in the centre, cover then seal the pastry and glaze with an egg yolk.
also works for pumpkins, marrows etc.

[battybird]

[quote="SusieGee"]You could always do what I'm doing at the moment - that is avoiding going to the bottom of the garden where the dratted things grow unfortunately that just results in triffid size marrows. If you're desperate enough here's a recipe I copied from someones post last year


COURGETTE BREAD

7 tbs buttermilk (yoghurt)
1/2 cup water (4fl oz)
1 1/2 cups grated courgette (generous!!)
4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 cup wholemeal bread flour
5tbspns mixed seeds (I used sunflour, linseed and pumpkin)
2tspn salt
2tspn sugar
2oz butter (or 2 tbsn olive oil)
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast

Makes a large loaf. I made the dough in the breadmaker then hand shaped it and baked in oven. Or do the whole thing in the breadmaker!
Shaped it in a big knot and washed it with egg and linseeds.[/quote


Thanks Susie, I think it could even have been my recipe but I had totally forgotten that the bread was so successful last year! ] Off now to grate the humungous offerings which are sitting on the kitchen counter........

[Millymollymandy]

Made courgette and mushroom kebabs last night which got rid of two more - just tossed them all in olive oil and some cajun and barbecue spice seasonings - you can do herbs or whatever takes your fancy.

[prison break fan]

I knew it was a good idea to ask again this year! definitely more new ideas out there! cheers! pbf.

[Green Rosie]

Bonjour folks - Prison Break Fan mentioned chocolate courgette cake - this is the one I make and I challenge anyone to realise there's courgette in it:

Chocolate Courgette Cake

170g (6oz) butter
400g (14oz) sugar
3 eggs - beaten
2tsp vanilla essence (or use vanilla sugar)
285g (10oz) grated courgette
355g (12.5oz) plain flour
75g (2.5oz) cocoa
2.5tsp baking powder
1.5tsp bicarb
1tsp salt
1tsp cinnamon
11cl (4fl oz) milk
170g (6oz) walnuts (optional)

1. Cream the butter and sugar
2. Add eggs one at a time with a little flour to stop curdling
3. Mix in courgette and vanilla (if using)
4. Sift in dry ingredients alternating with the milk
5. Fold in the walnuts if using
6. Bake in a large greased cake tin for 1-1.5hrs at Gas 4, 180 C, 350F
7. Leave in the tin to cool for 15 mins before turning out