Season for salad

With temperatures as high as the mid-30s (40 degrees in parts of the UK!) this past few weeks, it’s hard to consider putting the oven on or even cooking on the hob in this heat. Salads are the answer and fortunately the allotment has been coming up trumps with lots of salad leaves, broad beans, sugarsnap and mangetout peas, and now the courgettes are in full swing too.

I tend to go and water the plot after 7.30/8pm when it’s this warm, not least because that forms part of Leo’s evening walk and it’s still too hot on his paws to venture out before. After 8, it’s so peaceful up on the plot and watering/harvesting on balmy evenings is a delight. The builders have started work on the field next to the allotments so peace is shattered if you happen to venture up during the day – I felt as though I’d entered a rave when I popped up to drop something off the other day, with radios blaring, builders singing along at the top of their voices and a fair bit of swearing thrown in. Not what we’re used to in an otherwise tranquil spot on the edge of the village, but that’s progress, I suppose… I’m only usually up there in the evenings or at weekends, so it doesn’t really affect me at the moment, but I do feel for all the retired plotholders who have had their quiet haven invaded. Ho hum.

A month’s worth of going up every evening to water/harvest has allowed me to feel a little more on top of the plot after a slow start this year. It’s amazing what you can achieve if you weed just one bed an evening, or sow a few rows of seed. The peak soft fruit harvest is now over after baskets full of currants, raspberries and of course gooseberries, and the early plums are starting to ripen. A lovely time of year.

I tend to water my pots at home in the morning aand the allotment in the evening to spread the load. Our individual water usage at the allotments isn’t metered, although the allotment association is, so we are not allowed to use hoses, which is absolutely fair enough. At home, of course, I am metered and I had rather a shock last week when my bill came in at over double what it usually is! After some investigation and quite a lot of panic, it transpired that, not only was my meter covered in a thick layer of mud so clearly hadn’t been read properly for quite some time, but South-East Water hadn’t marked the reading as estimated and had clearly plucked a figure from thin air! The true reading was in fact slightly less than it usually is – much to my relief! Do check, even if your reading isn’t shown as estimated. My water butts only ran out a few weeks ago, after the alleged meter reading, and I had a new boiler installed at home in May, which heats the water up much faster than my previous model, so I knew I should be using less…

I read recently that barley straw is an excellent mulch for suppressing perennial weeds like couch grass and buttercups: https://www.gcplants.co.uk/barley-straw-weed-control.html. My soft fruit beds got out of control this spring when I didn’t have time to do any weeding, as did the paths between my raised beds. The wood chip I laid in previous years has now rotted down, proving a fertile growing medium for weed seeds and those creeping couch grass rhizomes. Anything organic is worth a try, especially if it doesn’t involve weedkiller (although another plotholder did suggest spraying weeds with undiluted white vinegar!), so a friend with a smallholding kindly ordered a bale of barley straw from a local farmer and I’ve now spread it on all my paths and soft fruit beds. We shall see – keeping my fingers well and truly crossed, and of course I’ll report back either way.

Anyway, on to those salads! My broad beans, mainly autumn-sown, have finished now but they were extremely plentiful this year so I’ve tried various salad combinations: my old favourite Broad bean & Halloumi Salad (or you could use feta instead), plus a delicious broad bean hummus or a fishy take with smoked haddock (or smoked salmon if you don’t want to cook). A summer spelt salad inspired by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall also hit the spot. French-style salades tièdes where you quickly fry or cook the main ingredients and serve on a bed of lettuce are always very welcome too.

Broad Bean Hummus – serves 3-4

200g podded broad beans (you’ll need 500g of pods for this many beans)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp tahini paste
Juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Generous handful of mint leaves, chopped

Pod the beans (you can save the pods and use to make vegetable stock if you’re feeling frugal), and place in a glass bowl with a dash of water.  Cover with a lid and microwave for 2-3 minutes. Otherwise steam for 4-5 minutes. Quickly transfer the beans to a colander and immerse in cool water,  then remove the grey outer skins. They should have started to split and come away easily with your fingers. If you’re using very tiny young beans, you can omit this stage, but the bright green colour of the filleted beans is an added bonus.

Put the beans into a food processor with the garlic, tahini paste, lime juice, mint and seasoning,  then blend to a very smooth purée. With the motor still running, gradually pour in the olive oil. Transfer to a pretty bowl and decorate with a sprig of mint or even a mint flower if you have any. Serve with good bread or crudités.

Another salad I discovered years ago but had forgotten about until recently is a Broad Bean, Smoked Haddock and Egg Salad, a hearty-enough meal for even the most salad-averse people! This entails simmering a piece of smoked haddock (preferably the natural coloured fish, not the dyed variety!) in water until it is tender, leaving to cool, then mixing with boiled new potatoes, just-cooked broad beans (filleted if you prefer), hard-boiled eggs, lettuce and/or rocket, sliced radishes and herbs of your choice. I like dill or fennel, but mint would work too. Dress with a  Citrussy Garlic Dressing made from 4 tbsp olive oil, the juice and grated rind of 1 lemon,  1 clove of garlic, crushed, 1 tsp wholegrain mustard and 1 tsp sugar.

Last but not least is a summer spelt salad based on the recipe from the River Cottage Veg Every Day book, but based on what I brought back from the plot as usual. I haven’t given quantities for the veg as it very much depends what you have.

Summer Spelt Salad – serves 2-3

100g pearled spelt (or pearl barley if that’s what you have)
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Sugarsnap peas, chopped
Courgettes, thinly sliced and blanched in boiling water for 3-5 minutes
Baby carrots, chopped
Bunch of carrot leaves, finely chopped
Golden beetroots, roasted in foil or boiled
New potatoes, boiled
Spring onions or baby leeks, chopped (or chives)
Fresh dill (or mint)
Citrussy garlic dressing (as above)
Seasoning

Rinse the pearled spelt in water, then cook in boiling water for 20-30 mins until just tender, but with a slight bite. Drain and add 2 tbsp of the dressing, then leave to cool while you prepare the veg. Mix together and season to taste, adding more dressing as required. The flavours meld together as the salad stands, making this even more delicious if you manage to save some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Adventures in North America

I know, I know, shocking to realise it’s been six months since I last posted here. It’s been one of those years: busy with work, plus my father has been unwell again, so I’ve spent a lot of time helping out at my parents’ and somehow time has just flown.

Then, joy of joys, I’ve finally managed to fly out to New England to visit my son, daughter-in-law and adorable new granddaughter Emma, not forgetting granddog Callie, another pandemic new arrival. I may have had to come via a circuitous route, spending 14 days in Canada first to get around the fact that most Europeans, vaccinated or otherwise, are still not allowed to enter the US if they’ve been in the Schengen zone, UK or Ireland for the past 14 days. In the event, my cousin and his wife kindly invited me to stay with them in North Vancouver and house-sit for part of the time they were away. They were the most generous hosts, taking me to see some jaw-droppingly beautiful sites up and around the North Shore and beyond, but I also enjoyed exploring British Columbia myself via the excellent public transport system. My unexpected diversion definitely turned into an adventure in its own right. I was absolutely blown away by the stunning scenery and Vancouver is a very special city, surrounded by water and mountains, beautiful gardens, friendly people and a great vibe.

Needless to say, I had to do a PCR test before flying – so stressful even though I knew I was double-vaccinated, had really not been anywhere and had been very careful when mixing with other people. The 24-hour wait before my results felt like one of the longest in my life! I think I was more nervous than before any exam I’ve ever taken! Waiting at Border Control on arrival in Canada was another anxious wait, just in case some part of my vaccination or test certification didn’t pass muster… Then I had to do it all over again before flying to the US, although this time I only needed a rapid antigen test, with results available after 20 (still anxious) minutes. I didn’t need proof of vaccination to get into the US, but I was still worried as the Canadian border officials hadn’t stamped my passport on arrival. In the event, although there was a huge queue for US Border Control in Vancouver Airport, it was primarily down to there being only two staff on duty and a lot of people travelling that day. I’m sure many people will have missed their flights as a result, but thankfully I’d allowed plenty of time and the friendly officer didn’t even ask how long I’d been in Canada! Mission accomplished – what a relief! I don’t think either my son or I stopped smiling or talking for the entire drive home after he picked me up at Boston Airport….

 

Now I’ve been here a week or so, I’ve finally got to know my beautiful granddaughter and it’s so nice to see their house and garden for real, as opposed to through the Facetime lens. They bought their first home in Beverly, on Boston’s North Shore, last summer, at the height of the pandemic, and have done amazingly well with the garden, sowing salvias, zinnias, echinaceas and many other flowers from seed and planting dahlias as tubers to superb effect, even if the varied colour mix they’d hoped for turned out to be just purple and crimson!

Of course, I couldn’t be here and not get stuck into cooking, gardening and flower arranging as well as cuddling the baby! They’ve had excellent crops of tomatoes (no blight here, unlike at home where my crop has been devastated this year), mounds of courgettes (zucchini!) and a fair number of aubergines (or should I say eggplants?!), both purple and white. Cue for me to make roast tomato soup, baba ghanoush and aubergine parmigiana, plus adapt a vegan zucchini soup recipe I found online to include lemon and thyme to great effect. The courgette soups I’ve tried in the past have often been fairly insipid, but the use of coconut oil in this one and the tang added by the lemon and thyme made it extremely good.

Courgette, Lemon & Thyme Soup
serves 4-6 (depending on portion size!)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (or use a generous bunch of spring onions / couple of leeks)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Handful of fresh thyme, tied with string (remember to remove when blending)
1-2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
1 kg courgettes, roughly chopped (you can even use courgettes that have turned into sneaky marrows!)
1 litre vegetable stock (or chicken stock if that’s all you have)
1 can coconut milk
Seasoning
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

Grated Parmesan and fresh thyme leaves to serve

Warm the olive oil, then add the chopped onion and garlic and cook gently until softened. Add the chopped courgettes, bay leaves, bunch of thyme and continue to cook gently for 15 minutes or so. Add the stock and coconut milk, plus the juice and zest of half a lemon, and season to taste. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, covered. Allow to cool slightly, then remove thyme and bay leaves before blending with a stick blender until smooth. If you prefer, transfer to a liquidiser goblet to blend, but it shouldn’t need sieving either way – unless, like me, you forget to remove the thyme first time round and need to sieve to make sure you remove any string/stems!.

The soup was perfect served with the cheese scones my cousin’s wife made for me in Vancouver – light and fluffy, plus very easy to make. The original recipe came from a guest house they stayed in where the hostess insisted on receiving a recipe in exchange for this one, but it’s well worth the barter – not that any cook worth his/her salt ever minds trading recipes! They can also be made without the cheese and served with jam for afternoon tea or breakfast. My cousin and his son raved about them lightly toasted for breakfast, and I’m sure that a dollop of clotted cream wouldn’t go amiss with jam either….

Sally’s Canadian Scones – makes 8

2 cups plain/all-purpose flour (330g)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (110g – 1 stick!)
1 cup milk or 1/2 milk & orange juice
2 tbsp grated Parmesan (or Cheddar), optional
1 tsp thyme leaves (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 425 F/200 C/Gas 6.
Sift or mix first three ingredients. Rub in butter. Add milk/juice and knead gently. Roll or pat out to desired thickness. Cut into 8 squares. Bake for approx. 12-15 mins. Cool and split before buttering to serve.

If making the cheese version, add cheese to the dry ingredients or brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with cheese before baking.
Enjoy!

The courgettes are coming!

Yes, it’s that season again: the courgettes are arriving thick and fast, green and gold. It always seems to take a while for the first fruit to set – often you get lots of male flowers with their jaunty yellow blooms, but the female flowers aren’t usually far behind. The first fruits to set may be small and slow to swell, but if you pick these young, more will swiftly follow and from then there’s no turning back! I’m currently keeping an eye on my neighbour’s plot as well while she’s away, so I have far more courgettes than I can handle. I have to confess to leaving some of the spares on the allotment sharing table to feed passers-by who aren’t as well endowed with these delicious summer squash family members.

I actually planted more seeds than usual this year as courgette sowing time (late April) coincided with mid-lockdown, panic-buying and shortages of various things in the shops. Who knew what the situation would be like later in the year? Fortunately, food supplies seem to have returned to normal, especially as lockdown eases, but I still have extra courgette plants growing at home in my oak barrels, amidst the begonias and lobelia. I may well regret having so many further down the line, but for now I’m enjoying them. I sowed three varieties this year: my usual reliable Defender (green), Gold Rush (yellow) and Shooting Star (supposedly climbing yellow), but I’m finding it quite a heavy, stiff plant, not conducive to climbing, so it’s more of a trailing specimen. The gold ones are proving delicious and vigorous this year – they must have enjoyed the fine weather and lots of sunshine.

All gardeners are desperate for new ways to ring the changes with courgettes by the end of summer, but at this stage I’m really enjoying rediscovering old favourites: courgette pasta with homemade pesto, courgette pancakes, courgette & lentil gratin and tangy summer vegetable salad to name but a few. There again, it’s always nice to try new recipes to add to the repertoire, so thought I’d share a recent discovery with you, as well as one old favourite that I’ve never got around to writing up for some reason, a courgette, feta & dill tart, with a filo pastry crust, so quick and easy to prepare for a relaxed Sunday lunch with guests. Of course, you can equally well make it with a shortcrust pastry case if you happen to have one lying around.

Courgette, Feta and Dill Tart – serves 6

2 tbsp olive oil
4 medium courgettes, about 450g in weight, thinly sliced (even better if you have both gold and green)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
1 lemon, grated zest
3 large eggs
200g natural yogurt
100g feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp fresh dill, chilled
seasoning
1 pack filo pastry
30g butter, melted

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently cook the sliced courgettes for about 10 minutes, turning as you go, until just starting to soften and turn golden. Add the garlic and capers and cook for another minute or so, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest and chopped dill. Leave to cool.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then mix in the yogurt and crumbled feta. Season generously, then stir in the cooled courgette mixture.

Heat the oven to 180°C, and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up, then prepare the pastry case. Grease a 23cm deep round tart tin (or use a 20 x 30 cm rectangular tin if you prefer). Take out the filo pastry, but cover the pile with a damp tea towel as you work to prevent it drying out. Place one sheet at a time in the tin and brush with melted butter. Place new sheets at an angle to the previous one, allowing the edges to overhang, until the tin is full and you have a pastry shell with at least 2-3 layers in all parts. You may not need the whole pack of filo.

Pour the courgette mixture into the pastry shell and place on the pre-heated baking tray. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes until the filling is set and just turning golden. Leave to set for about 10 minutes before serving with a garden salad.

Also great served cold or warmed in the microwave the following day.

Along the same lines, I also experimented with a sourdough pizza bianca topped with green and yellow courgettes with very good results. Sourdough bread has been a revelation over the weeks of lockdown and I will dedicate a special post just to that one of these days, but for now I’ll just refer you to this recipe for pizza using sourdough discard: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-pizza-crust-recipe – you can thank me later. This recipe makes enough dough for two large pizzas, but I find you can either freeze half or leave in the fridge overnight and roll out the next day if you don’t want to cook both at once.

My topping, which you could just as easily try on a standard pizza dough base, uses 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp crème fraîche and brushed over the base. Top with two or three thinly sliced courgettes (again, two colours look pretty), a scattering of capers, a handful of pine nuts and seasoning, chopped dill or shredded basil and grated parmesan or Cheddar to taste, drizzled with olive oil before baking for 15-20 minutes. Yum!

However, my discovery of the season so far has been Sarah Raven’s courgette balls with a spicy tomato and coconut sauce from her ‘Good, Good Food’ book. Can’t think why I’ve never tried them before! Not unlike Indian pakora and absolutely delicious – try them and see. They are quite time-consuming, so allow plenty of time, but well worth the initial faff.

Courgette Balls with Spiced Tomato & Coconut Sauce – serves 2

500g courgettes
1/2 tsp salt
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp coconut oil
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 thumb-size piece of root ginger, grated
I lime, grated zest and juice
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
50g gram flour
More coconut oil (to bake) or rapeseed/groundnut oil (to fry)

Sauce

2 onions, chopped
1 heaped tsp coconut oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 red chilli, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
400ml tin of coconut milk
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds, dry-fried and ground
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
seasoning

For the courgette balls, grate the courgettes and place in a colander set over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes or so to allow the excess liquid to drain out. The salty liquid can be added to the sauce later, so don’t discard.

Gently fry the finely chopped onion in the coconut oil in a large frying pan until soft, but not brown – about 10 minutes. Add the chopped chilli, garlic and grated ginger and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lime zest and juice, pine nuts and fresh coriander.

Tip the courgettes into a clean tea towel and squeeze dry with your hands, draining excess liquid into the bowl. Mix the courgette with the onion and spice mix, then sprinkle in the gram flour and mix again. Chill in the fridge while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, fry the onions in the coconut oil for about 10 minutes, as before. Add the turmeric, cumin, chilli and ground coriander. Stir in the tinned tomatoes and the salty courgette liquid, then bring to the boil. Add the coconut milk and simmer for about 15 minutes until reduced and a dipping consistency. Sprinkle in the garam masala and ground cumin seeds, season to taste and sprinkle with fresh coriander.

To make the balls, roll small handfuls of the courgette mixture into 16 table-tennis-sized balls and then either shallow-fry in coconut oil in a large frying pan for about 10 minutes or bake in the oven at 170°C on a greased baking sheet, drizzling with rapeseed or groundnut oil before baking. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn and crisp on the other side for a further 15 minutes. If your oven is hotter or cooler you may need to adjust these times, of course.

Serve with the sauce for dipping – and enjoy! The amount of sauce here will be a lot more than you need for two, but can easily be frozen for the next time.

 

Autumn – decadence and decay

Autumn can be a time of abundance, decadent overgrowth and plentiful harvests, but it’s also a time when plants start to decay and die back as the first frosts of autumn hit or the winds come howling in. I came back from nearly two weeks in the US celebrating my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding with her American friends and family to find my allotment full of weeds, dahlias still flowering in gay abandon and my bean frame horizontal – I’m guessing we’ve had some strong winds in my absence! The calabrese plants appear to be flowering, despite not showing any signs of heads before I went away, and there are lots of windfall apples on the floor. On the plus side, the spinach and chard I’d sown in early September are looking really good, as is the kale and purple-sprouting broccoli, and even the bulb fennel hasn’t gone to seed – a first! The courgette plants are looking very sorry for themselves, not quite frosted, but definitely browning, although I still managed to harvest a few decent courgettes – I’d picked all incipient fruit before I left to avoid coming back to marrow armageddon….

That reminds me of a couple of new courgette recipes I experimented with this year, but haven’t had time to jot down with all the wedding goings-on this summer. I’m always on the lookout for new ways with courgettes, especially in such a hot year when new courgettes were forming on a daily basis at the height of the season.

The first recipe was inspired by a recipe in the July edition of the Sainsbury’s magazine, tweaked as ever to suit what I had available. It’s gluten-free and even low carb, if that’s what you’re looking for, although not particularly why I made it – it just sounded good! The original recipe used turkey, whereas I used pork mince, but use whatever you have/fancy. Sorry, no photo – I did have one, but it’s taken me so long to write up the recipe that I must have deleted it by mistake…

Moroccan Courgette & Pork Bake – serves 4

2-3 large courgettes (about 750g)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 red peppers, sliced (optional, but nice!)
500g pork mince
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp harissa
handful of chopped coriander or parsley
250g natural yogurt
1 large egg
50-100g freshly grated Parmesan (or use Cheddar if that’s what you have!)
Seasoning

Heat the oven to 200°C / Gas 6. Top and tail the courgettes, then slice lengthwise into thin slices about 5 mm thick. Place on a foil-lined baking tray, brush with olive oil and roast in the hot oven for 15-20 minutes or until just golden and soft, but not mushy.

In the meantime, fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, then add the sliced red peppers, followed by the minced pork (or turkey) and cook for a further 5 minutes until browned. Add the spices and harissa and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then add the tomato purée and the chopped tomatoes with their juice. Stir in the chopped herbs and season to taste.

Place a layer of sauce in the bottom of a rectangular dish (20 x 25 cm), then a layer of courgettes and continue until all used up, ending with a courgette layer. Blend the yogurt, beaten egg and seasoning in a small bowl, then pour over the courgettes and top with grated cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with a green salad. Freezes beautifully too.

Another courgette recipe I’ve trialled recently, based on how delicious courgette is in bread and cakes, is courgette & cheese scones. Perfect if you haven’t time to bake bread, but need something urgently to accompany your latest soup creation! Served here with roasted tomato soup with the last of the season’s homegrown tomatoes…

Cheesy Courgette Scones – makes 10-12

450g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
350g grated courgettes
salt
125g butter
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
approx. 150ml milk
125g grated Cheddar cheese
seasoning

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / Gas 6.

Put the grated courgettes in a colander over the sink and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain to remove excess liquid for about 15 minutes. Then rinse with cold water, tip the courgettes into a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much juice as possible

In another bowl rub the butter into the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the fresh thyme leaves. Add most of the grated cheese and courgette and mix thoroughly. Add enough milk to make a soft dough that’s not too sticky (add more flour if necessary). Gently roll out the dough to 2cm thick and cut into rounds with a pastry cutter. Place the scones on a greased baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes.  They should be a nice golden brown and well risen.

Serve with butter and a bowl of steaming homemade soup. Once again, these freeze well and are ideal to have in the freezer for emergency lunches or unexpected visitors.

Still on the baking theme, I also found a delicious recipe for chocolate & courgette brownies  a great way of getting rid of excess courgettes AND adding extra vegetables to boost the 5-a-day count of unwilling veg eaters! I found it here, but have adapted it slightly and record my version here for reference. Once again, these freeze well, which is great if you live alone and don’t want to eat them all at once! The problem with vegetable-based cakes in warm weather is that they can go off within a matter of days in the tin, so freezing is definitely the way to go.

Chocolate & Courgette Brownies – makes 16

300g courgettes / zucchini
salt
200g dark chocolate, chopped
150g butter
3 eggs, beaten
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g self-raising flour
2 tsp espresso powder
100 g chopped hazelnuts (or walnuts or pecans if you prefer), toasted on a baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes

Traybake tin measuring approx 28cm x 20cm x 4cm deep, greased and lined with baking paper

Pre-heat oven to 160℃ fan / Gas 4.

Grate the courgettes and place in a colander over the sink, then sprinkle with salt. Leave to drain for 15 minutes or so, while you get on with the brownies.

Place the chocolate and butter in a microwaveable bowl and microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes in 30-second bursts until melted. Stir until chocolate is nice and smooth and leave to cool. Alternatively melt the old-fashioned way in a glass bowl over a small pan of simmering water. Leave to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together using an electric mixer until doubled in volume (about 5 to 8 minutes depending on your mixer). Add the vanilla extract. Carefully pour the cooled chocolate into your egg mix and gently fold together with a metal spoon.

Rinse the courgettes to wash off the salt, then transfer to a clean tea towel and squeeze firmly to remove excess liquid. Fold the courgettes and toasted chopped nuts into the brownie mix. Sieve the dry ingredients into the mixture and fold in carefully.

Pour mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 30 minutes. Check to see if there is a paper-like crust on top – there should still be some movement in the centre of the tin. Bake for another 5 minutes if you don’t think it’s cooked enough, then take out and leave to cool. They will firm up on cooling. Cut into 16 individual portions when cool.

My final suggestion is barely a recipe, more a reminder of my favourite and simplest way of serving courgettes as a side dish. Again no photo – I’m getting lax! I cleaned up my photos before going to the US so I’d have space to take lots of new pictures, and have clearly been overzealous.

Courgette & Tomato Bake – serves 3-4

1 large onion, chopped
450g courgettes, thickly sliced
glug of olive oil
4 large tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Handful fresh herbs (I use basil, parsley and thyme)
seasoning
100g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
50g white breadcrumbs

Cook the onions and garlic in a frying pan with the olive oil for about 5-10 minutes until starting to soften. Add the courgettes and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes, herbs and seasoning and cook until a thickish mixture forms.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish, mix the grated cheese and breadcrumbs together and sprinkle over the courgette mixture. Cook in a hot oven at 180°C/gas 5 until the cheese is starting to brown (25-30 minutes).

Serve with sausages, chops or on its own as a delicious vegetarian main.

Baking with courgettes…

The recent unexpected late summer heat has meant that the courgettes are still going great guns. Blink, or miss a day or two of harvesting, and you have marrows to contend with! Fortunately, I love courgettes, so courgette pasta, courgette & feta pancakes and grated courgette & beetroot salad have all been on the menu this week – hardly any wonder that I turn virtually vegetarian in the summer months.

Another way of using up courgette gluts is to use them in baking. Bread and cakes with added courgette seem incredibly light and airy – and decidedly virtuous: green AND making inroads into the courgette mountain!

I first made courgette bread  a few years ago when I stumbled across a delicious-sounding recipe on Jack Monroe’s website, then called “A Girl called Jack”. The website has now been rebranded “Cooking on a bootstrap“, but the recipe remains the same – along with the intention of providing tasty food on a shoestring. I’ve adapted it slightly for use in a breadmaker, but it is fundamentally based on Jack’s original idea – and a really nice way of using up some of those courgettes. (See the original website if you want to make it the old-fashioned way.)

Courgette, Lemon & Sultana Bread

1 medium courgette
300g strong bread flour, plus extra to knead the dough
1 tsp dried yeast (I like Dove’s Farm)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
50g sultanas
zest and juice of 1⁄2 a lemon
1 tsp caraway seeds (optional)
Water
Poppy seeds to sprinkle

Grate the courgette finely into a large mixing bowl and set aside with a sprinkling of salt in a colander to allow some of the liquid to drain off – especially important if using juicy homegrown courgettes! Put 1 tsp dried yeast, 300g strong bread flour, salt and sugar into the breadmaker, then add the drained courgette, sultanas, lemon zest and caraway seeds if using. Add the water to the lemon juice and make up to 100-120 ml – I would tend to add the lesser amount if using homegrown veg. as they are very juicy. Set the breadmaker to dough mode – this takes 2 hrs 20 minutes in my Panasonic machine, but every machine will be different.

When the dough is ready, turn out onto a floured surface and knock down. You may need to add quite a lot of extra flour at this stage, depending on the juiciness of the courgettes. When the dough is soft, but able to be moulded without sticky fingers, pat out an oval on a greased baking sheet and leave in a warm place to prove for 30 mins – 1 hour. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if using.

Set oven to 180°C/gas 4 to preheat, then cook the proved loaf for 30 minutes. It should be golden and crisp on top, feel lightweight and sound hollow on the bottom when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then serve with butter and hunks of cheese – this is also surprisingly good toasted with jam!

My second bread recipe came about when I realised I hadn’t left myself enough time to make a yeasted dough and had people coming for lunch. A quick internet search (I find myself doing this more and more nowadays despite my many recipe books!) brought up this BBC recipe, which is amazingly good considering how quick it is – and yes, it uses up yet more courgettes! I adapted it to what I had in the fridge, as ever, but honey aficionados might like to check out the original recipe.

Courgette & Cheddar Soda Bread

400g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
2 medium courgettes
50g rolled oats
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g mature cheddar, grated
few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
285ml natural yogurt
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 egg, beaten or milk, to glaze

Heat oven to 180°C fan/gas 6 and grease, then dust a baking sheet with a little flour. Coarsely grate the courgettes, then place in a clean tea towel and  squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Put the flour, oats, bicarb and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Add most of the cheddar (save a little for the top), thyme leaves and grated courgettes. Mix the yogurt and maple syrup, then pour into the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to clump together, then tip onto a work surface and knead briefly to bring all the loose bits together – try not to overwork the dough or the bread will be heavy.

Shape into a round loaf and place on the baking sheet. Brush with egg or milk and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Use a sharp knife to score a deep cross on top of the loaf, then bake for 30-40 mins until deep golden brown. Best served warm, but leftovers will keep for 1-2 days. Delicious with soup, cheese or hummus – and makes delicious toast!

My final baking suggestion is a courgette cake. Inspired by Bake Off’s drizzle challenge this week, I fancied a courgette drizzle cake – and sure enough, my internet searches brought up a few promising candidates. I plumped for a gluten-free option (always worth experimenting before you’re expecting guests) from the Waitrose recipe site, and was amazed by the results: you would never guess this was a GF cake – sublime!

Courgette Lemon Drizzle Cake

250g courgettes, coarsely grated
175g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g ricotta
125g Doves Farm GF self-raising flour (or use normal flour if you prefer)
85g polenta
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Finely grated juice and zest 2 lemons
Handful thyme sprigs
6-8 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Grease and base-line 2 loaf tins (or one if you prefer a larger cake for a crowd – bear in mind that cakes made with fresh vegetables don’t keep as long, especially in the warm summer months. I made one to eat and one to freeze.). Put the grated courgettes into a clean tea towel and squeeze out excess juice.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a spoonful of flour if it looks as though it is starting to curdle, followed by the vanilla and ricotta. Fold in the flour, polenta, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Finally fold in the lemon zest, grated courgettes and thyme leaves, reserving some for decoration.

Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin/s and bake for 1 hour (large tin) or 35 mins (two tins) until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Mix the lemon juice with the icing sugar and a sprinkling of thyme leaves. Spoon the drizzle over the cooled cake and leave to set. Slice and serve with a cup of tea for a delectable afternoon treat.

Peas, courgettes and beetroot…

This has been a week of hefty pickings from the allotment – and with only me here to eat it all, my cooking has been very much variations on a theme! Hard to believe that just six weeks ago, I was worried whether the plants would survive the cold/slugs/pigeon attacks. I needn’t have fretted; the peas, mangetout and sugarsnap, have been amazing, outgrowing their net protection frame so much that I had to put in extension poles to raise the height (and stop those plump allotment pigeons pecking out the tips). The courgettes, sown and brought on in the warmth of the conservatory, have loved the freshly-manured bed and plentiful rain followed by sun, and almost growing before my eyes. I sowed two varieties this year, my old stalwart, the dark green Defender, and a pale green Italian variety from seed producers Franchi Sementi, called simply Genovese – which is delicious and very prolific. I wasn’t sure that seed from a hot country would do as well here, but so far I’m very impressed.

I try and walk down to the allotment every other evening in the harvesting season – or every evening if it’s very hot, especially if I have new plantings I need to keep watered. Even with such a short time interval between harvests, I am still returning with four or five courgettes and a punnet full of peas, to say nothing of soft fruit. I’ve given some away to friends and neighbours, of course, and my son and his fiancée visited briefly this weekend and went back after dinner with a vegetable box worth of fruit and veg from me and my son’s future in-laws. With tomatoes, lettuce and round courgettes from their smallholding, and sugarsnaps, straight courgettes, dill, jostaberries and dahlias from me, they can cancel this week’s Abel&Cole box without any qualms at all!

It’s been surprisingly easy to come up with different combinations each night for dinner. I love eating the sugarsnaps raw with my simple lunch, but I’ve also had them in pasta sauce with fresh pesto and courgettes, as a quick & easy stir-fry with mushrooms and a hint of bacon, in a cream sauce with dill and smoked salmon to top linguine, and in a delicious pea orzotto inspired by Bake Off’s John Whaite via Twitter. I suspect this would also work with pearled spelt, although I haven’t tried it yet – or of course you could use rice, but cooking for a much shorter time as for a standard risotto.

Sugarsnap Orzotto with Tangy Feta & Mint – serves 2

1 litre vegetable stock, preferably homemade
300g sugarsnaps and/or mangetout peas
1 lemon, grated zest and juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
125 – 150g pearl barley, rinsed and drained
Small glass white wine
Handful fresh dill, roughly chopped
Handful fresh mint, roughly chopped
100g feta cheese
Salt and pepper

Put the vegetable stock, 200g peas, half the lemon zest and the crushed garlic into a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sugarsnaps are tender (mangetouts will need less time), then allow to cool. Blitz in a blender to a smooth liquid and sieve to remove strings – essential, even with fresh-picked sugarsnaps!
In a large, shallow casserole, heat a generous amount of olive oil over a medium heat, and add the chopped onions. Cook for 5 minutes or until transparent, then add the pearl barley and white wine. Bubble for a few minutes, than add some of the blended pea stock, half the lemon juice, seasoning and half the chopped dill and mint. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes, topping up with more stock as it is absorbed by the barley. Chop the remaining sugarsnaps/mangetouts into bite-sized pieces and add after half an hour. You may not need all the stock, so keep an eye on it, and keep testing the barley for tenderness. Meanwhile, chop the feta cheese into small chunks and add the remaining lemon zest and juice, chopped mint and dill and a splash of olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Leave to marinate while the risotto cooks. Once the pearl barley is tender, it is ready. Serve topped with the minty feta cheese, and garnish with extra raw sugarsnaps if you have any!

Earlier in the week, I also served both peas and courgettes raw in a sublime beetroot “rice” and feta salad adapted from a recipe suggestion in Olive magazine. I’ve grown two varieties this year, my favourite Cylindra for deliciously sweet, cylindrical beets that peel easily after roasting, and Chioggia, an usual and very pretty pink and white-striped beetroot. So far, I’ve found the taste of the Chioggia a little insipid when cooked, and the stripes/colour tend to fade to a muddy pink, which is disappointing – but grated raw in this salad, they were a revelation!

Beetroot “Rice” Salad with Feta, Sugarsnaps & Courgettes
– serves 2

4 raw beetroot (I used Chioggia), peeled and roughly chopped
Handful of dill, chopped
100g feta, chopped
100g sugarsnap peas, trimmed and roughly chopped
100g fresh courgettes, sliced very thinly into discs
2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds, roasted
Lettuce to serve

Tangy lemon dressing
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
6 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
Handful dill, chopped (and/or mint)
Salt and pepper

Put the chopped beetroot into a food processor and process until it resembles grains of rice. Tip into a serving bowl. Make the dressing by blending all the ingredients together in a jar and shaking until emulsified. Pour half the dressing over the beetroot – you won’t need it all, but see how you go. Any left over will keep well in the fridge for a week. Mix in the toasted sunflower and cumin seeds, sugarsnaps and courgettes and finally sprinkle over the feta. Serve on a bed of lettuce and enjoy! It’s hard to believe something so healthy and raw can taste so good.

 

Goodbye to courgettes….

The recent sunny days, yet cold nights of this lovely spell of early autumn weather have more or less put an end to the courgettes. Mine are hanging on in there, but I really don’t think I’m going to get much more fruit now. In any event, I’ve earmarked their current position for next year’s broad beans, which I like to sow in late October/November for an early and hopefully problem-free crop next May/June. I plant the variety ‘Aquadulce Claudia’, one of the best autumn-sowing varieties, and find they make a good start before the worst of the winter, regrowing all the more strongly next spring. In contrast, my neighbouring plotholder’s spring-sown plants never really came to anything in this late, cold and dry spring, so I felt doubly glad I’d opted for autumn sowing – plus it’s one less thing to sow next spring!

The courgettes haven’t been wonderful this year either, I must admit. I had seven plants: four green ‘Defender’ and three golden ‘Soleil’, but the yellow ones, in particular, were dreadful: the fruit set, but never grew to full size. The Defenders were fine, just not quite as bountiful as usual, which was fine, but meant I wasn’t giving them away left, right and centre as usual! Time to try some new varieties next year, I think… I still have three or four in the fridge, and have been meaning to note down my favourite courgette recipes, so here goes: better late than never!

Courgette Fritters – serves 2-3

I first tasted these many years ago in a trendy little restaurant (Randalls) in the back streets of Bollington, on the Cheshire fringes of the Peak District – divine! They are quite a last-minute thing to cook, so probably best not attempted for a dinner party, but if you’re cooking a family meal or informal supper where you can stand and cook/talk at the same time, these are a delicious way of using up a glut of courgettes!

250g medium courgettes

Handful dill (optional)

2 egg whites

2 level tbsp plain flour (can use rice flour for a gluten-free alternative)

Salt

Rapeseed or sunflower oil

Cut the courgettes into 5-6cm lengths, than half and quarter each length, so you have 4 batons. Place in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave to draw out excess juice over the sink.

Rinse and dry well in an old tea towel to remove salt.

Heat the oil in a large pan; I use a wok with a semi-circular tempura rack attached to the side and fill the wok until the oil is about 5 cm in depth. (You could, of course, use a deep-fat fryer, but I deep-fry so rarely that this method works equally well.)

When a cube of bread added to the pan sizzles and turns golden, the oil is hot enough to start the fritters.

In the meantime, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gradually fold in the flour and chopped dill if using. Toss the dried courgette batons in the egg and flour mixture and add to the hot oil in the pan one at a time, using kitchen tongs. Don’t add too many to the pan in one go, as otherwise the oil will lose its heat and the fritters won’t cook sufficiently quickly.

When golden brown and crispy, lift the fritters out individually with tongs and leave to drain on the tempura rack (or on kitchen roll) while you cook the rest, using as many batches as you need to avoid overfilling the wok.

Serve hot as a side dish and enjoy!

Courgette and Feta Pancakes – serves 4

This is one of those favourite recipes scribbled on a bit of paper in my trusty recipe scrapbook and one I turn to several times each year. I think it first appeared in my organic vegetable box when I was tragically between vegetable plots. We’d moved house, but not had chance to grow any veg or take on the allotment, and I discovered a lovely local box scheme in the next village. They didn’t deliver and you had to drive down a very rutted track to reach the farm, but it was worth it for the fantastic smell of fresh basil when you walked in! They always added a recipe sheet in the box and this, I think, was based on one of theirs.

4 cups coarsely grated courgettes

4 eggs, separated

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Handful dill (optional)

½ cup onion, spring onion or leek, grated or finely chopped

3-4 tbsp plain flour (gram flour works well for a gluten-free alternative)

Salt & pepper

Butter and olive oil for frying

Sour cream or crème fraiche to serve

Place grated courgette in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave to stand over the sink for about 15 minutes. Rinse well to remove salt and dry extremely thoroughly in an old tea towel, squeezing to remove surplus water.

Mix courgettes with egg yolks, feta, onions, dill (if using) and flour, then season to taste.

Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, then fold into the courgette mixture.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan and add spoonfuls of the mixture to cook over a medium-heat. The mix is quite soft, but you should be able to turn the pancakes with a fish slice and palette knife when one side is cooked. Cook on the other side until golden and serve straightaway with sour cream or crème fraiche on the side.

In the height of summer, I serve these with a green salad and chopped cherry tomatoes, sprinkled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic, a hint of sugar and seasoning – delicious!

My final recipe is another old favourite from the Sainsbury’s Sarah Brown Vegetarian Cookbook back in the 1980s. It’s a filling, yet delicious vegetarian main course and tastes good both hot and cold, so ideal for picnics or leftover working lunches the next day.

Courgette & Lentil Gratin – serves 4-6

4oz red lentils

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tbsp tomato purée

2oz oats

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp chopped mixed herbs (basil, thyme, parsley or oregano all work well)

8oz courgettes, diced

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp wholemeal flour (or use rice or gram flour for gluten-free diners)

2 fl. oz milk

Salt and pepper

Handful basil, chopped

2oz Cheddar cheese, grated

Cook the lentils in twice their volume of water for about 10 mins or until soft. Beat with a wooden spoon, then drain off any excess liquid.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then cook the onion and garlic for about 4-5 minutes until starting to soften. Remove from the heat, then add the cooked lentils, tomato purée, oats, lemon juice, herbs and seasoning. The mixture should be thick enough to hold together. If too wet, either return to the heat to dry off a little more, or add some more oats.

Press the mixture around the sides and base of a greased 8” flan dish.

Meanwhile, either steam the courgettes for a couple of minutes or cook them with a knob of butter in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Drain off excess liquid if microwaving. Blend the eggs with the flour, then add the milk. Stir in the cooked and drained courgettes, chopped basil and seasoning.

Spoon the filling into the flan case, top with grated cheese and cook for 180°C (fan), Gas 5 for about 25-30 minutes or until set.

Serve warm or cold with a salad.

Feast of plenty

Returning home from a 10-day working trip in France this weekend, the garden seems to have been ultra-bountiful in my absence. The Katy apple tree, a delicious red eating apple along the lines of Discovery, has shed most of its fruit now, always an early arrival, and friends have kindly left bags full in my fridge. The tomatoes have also ripened beautifully, despite, or perhaps, because of the plentiful rain, and I haven’t dared check out the allotment yet, but the rather large courgettes taking up residence in my fridge suggest they have been productive too! I’m hoping to spend the day down at the allotment tomorrow, so will doubtless have even more bounty to process then….

Having eaten at rather strange times in France due to my working hours, I’ve been really looking forward to simple fruit and vegetable meals again – just as well, really! For tonight’s meal, after a day getting straight with unpacking, washing, sorting out paperwork and generally relaxing, I had the urge to make something akin to Aubergine Parmigiana, but sadly my only remaining aubergine is just a couple of inches long and probably won’t come to anything this late in the season. I decided instead to create a tomato dish, inspired by the aubergine recipe, but using just tomatoes. I served it with pork and leek sausages from my local farm shop and it was everything I’d imagined: see what you think!

Baked Tomato & Gruyère Gratin – serves 2 or 4

450g tomatoes (amount not crucial – just use what you need to fill the dish!)
Handful fresh basil
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Balsamic vinegar
200g pot creamy fromage frais (not the 0% stuff!)
About 80g Gruyère
Couple of handfuls of breadcrumbs

Halve the tomatoes and line up in neat rows in a gratin dish. I used cherry tomatoes as that’s what I had most of, but you can use standard tomatoes too – just increase the initial cooking time in that case. Sprinkle with chopped garlic, chopped basil, then drizzle with olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Roast in a pre-heated oven at 200°C / Gas 6 for 20 – 30 minutes depending on size of tomatoes. They should be starting to soften and release their juices.

Top with spoonfuls of fromage frais, spreading out as best you can; it doesn’t matter if it’s not all covered. Then add thin shavings of Gruyère and top with the breadcrumbs (I use frozen for ease, prepared in the food processor when I have excess bread to use up).

Turn the oven down to 180°C / Gas 5 and cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on top.

Serves 4 as a vegetable side dish with meat and potatoes or 2 if just serving as a substantial side with sausages or chops.

Pudding had to be apples of some description, so I looked to Nigel Slater’s Real Fast Puddings for inspiration and adapted one of his deliciously simple apple creations:

Pan-fried apples with Calvados – serves 2

4-5 red eating apples such as Katy or Discovery – choose apples that will hold their shape when cooked
Lemon juice
Knob of butter
2-3 tbsp vanilla sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Dash of Calvados

Peel and core the apples, slicing each apple into 8 or so segments. Sprinkle with lemon juice to stop browning as you prepare the rest.

Melt the butter in a small frying pan and add the apples. Cook over a relatively gentle heat for 15 minutes or so until starting to soften. Add the vanilla sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon to taste, then cook for a further 10 minutes until the liquid looks syrupy. Add a dash of Calvados and cook for a further few minutes.

Serve warm or cold with crème fraiche or clotted cream. Heaven…

My final recipe is one I shall cook tomorrow night to make inroads into the courgette stockpile. It was suggested by a very good friend of mine after we’d shared a foodie/garden-visiting weekend together earlier this year and makes a scrumptious and substantial vegetarian feast. The first time I made it, I adapted it slightly to use up the remains of a Puy lentil and beetroot salad I had in the fridge, but you can equally well use lentils from scratch. Just cook in water for 20 minutes or so according to the instructions on the packet.

Stuffed Courgettes with Puy Lentils & Cheese – serves 2

2 large courgettes
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Handful chopped basil
½ tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
100g cooked Puy lentils
Cooked beetroot (optional)
Cheddar cheese to top

Halve courgettes lengthwise and hollow out flesh with a sharp spoon. Chop the flesh and reserve. Blanch the courgette shells in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and place in a rectangular gratin dish.

Sauté the chopped onion, garlic and chilli until soft, then add chopped courgette flesh, cumin and coriander, chopped tomatoes, basil and tomato purée. Cook down for a further 10-15 minutes, then stir in the cooked lentils and beetroot (if using). Cook for another 10 minutes or so until well blended; fill courgettes with the lentil mixture and top with grated Cheddar cheese.

Cook in a hot oven (180°C / Gas 5) for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Serve with a green salad and enjoy!