Courgette recipes 2013

(Didn't have time to look back and see if we already had a thread of courgette recipes, so this is the up-to-date one if there is!!)

COURGETTE TART

I sheet of ready rolled puff pastry, or block of frozen puff pastry
1 small tub mascapone
about 50gr parmesan, though finely grated cheddar would also be good
a couple of courgettes
Olive oil
a crushed clove of garlic
salt and black pepper

Roll out the pastry if you need to, or lay the ready rolled pastry in a swiss roll tin. With a sharp knife, score a line 2cm in from the edge all the way round. Spread a couple of tablespoons of mascapone on the pastry, inside the scored line. Sprinkle with half the parmesan. Slice courgettes fairly thinly and toss in the olive oil and garlic, to coat all over. Arrange the courgettes in lines on the mascapone. Season with salt and black pepper. Bake at mark 6 (200C) for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top, return to the oven for another 15 - 20 minutes.

This is my famed Sticky Pickle, a gorgeous sweet & spicy (as spicy as you like) pickle that uses those courgettes that make a bid for marrowdom.

Autumn Spiced Caramelised Honey Chutney (aka Sticky Pickle)

2 level tsp black peppercorn
1 level tsp whole pickling spice
3lb marrow peeled, seeded and cut into ½ in chunks
1lb ripe tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
8oz onions, skinned and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, skinned and roughly chopped
2 level tsp salt
2 level tsp ground ginger
2 oz sultanas
2lb 8oz granulated sugar
4oz honey
1 ¼ pint of cider or white wine vinegar

Prep time 20 Minutes, cooking time 1hr to 1 ½ hrs
Makes about 4-5 lb

1. Finley crush the peppercorn and spice

2. Put all the ingredients in a preserving pan or large, heavy- based saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil steadily for about 1 – 1 & a half hours until thick & sticky . Stir occasionally until caramelised.

3. Allow to cool and place in sterilised jars and cover with jam pot covers.

I've done this one for the first time so not really tried & tested.  I only tried a small quantity.  On first tasting it seems to be a bit sweet so I might try with less sugar.  The veg has stayed nice & crunchy & it looks good in the jars with the bits of red pepper.

PICKLED COURGETTES

3lb courgettes, thinly sliced
2 small onions, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
2oz salt
16 fl oz malt or white vinegar
1 lb sugar
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 - 3 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground ginger

Layer veg with salt & cover with cold water for 2 hours.  Drain & rinse.
Bring vinegar, sugar & spices to the boil.  Remove from heat, add veg & leave for 2 hours.
Return to the boil & cook for 5 minutes.  Spoon into hot jars.

Thanks for that Ploshkin. Can I ask how you tell when it is caramelised enough ? Do you go by colour, taste or ...?

I just keep going until it's thick & jam like with no spare liquid. It takes quite a time but suddenly seems to go jammy - that's when there's a danger of it sticking if you don't stir. It should be a very dark amber colour.

Inspired by the Great British Bake-Off, in which they made cakes using vegetables, I said AH HA! A bit of internet searching turned up lots of cake recipes using courgette.

I picked two mini marrows on returning from holiday, and one of them is now part of two different cakes - a lemon & courgette cake and a chocolate courgette cake. They're both in the oven right now, and if they are good, I will post the recipes.

Further to the above post, we've just sampled some of the lemon cake, still warm from the oven, and it's laaaavely. So, here be the recipe:
LEMON COURGETTE CAKE - serves 12 (apparently...)
200g grated courgette
150g caster sugar
1 egg
125ml vegetable oil
200g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat oven to 160C/Gas mark 3.
2. Grease a 1lb loaf tin.
3. In a bowl, beat together the courgette, sugar, egg and oil.
4. In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, bicarb and baking powder, then stir in the cinnamon and lemon zest.
5. Stir the flour mix into the courgette mix until just blended and then pour the batter into the tin.
6. Bake 45 mins in a preheated oven. Cool for 10 mins in the tin, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe, as I always make these loaf type cakes using half plain and half wholemeal flour - I increased the baking powder by 1/2 tsp to compensate for the heavier wholemeal. I also halved the sugar, making it up with an equal quantity of sweetner, to make it more diabetic friendly. I found it took longer to cook than the recipe suggests - I added 10 minutes, but I did have a full oven, which often affects timings.

Just hoping now that I will get some more courgettes before the weather gets too cold for them.

Did you make it into the shape of an allotment??

Does it taste very lemony with only 2tsp of zest? I made courgette & cocoa muffins earlier this year - I won't be repeating that one. They were boring & tasteless.
My courgettes have been pretty much over for a while now & the near freezing temps this morning will have finished off any stragglers. So, also inspired by the GBBO I've made a carrot cake

Not very lemony, no. But very good - didn't feel the need to add more flavouring of any description.
Tried the chocolate one later yesterday evening - that was very good too. I think the chopped walnuts do a lot for the flavour. It was quite dark and moist. Will post the recipe later when I have time - just taking a tea and fruitcake break at the mo (eating that is, not making).

I've gone a bit courgette cake mad. Last night I made two more and different cakes: a spiced with sultanas and walnuts, and an orange with chocolate chips. They have all been really good, and all my really big courgettes are used up now.

By the way, P'kin, I forgot to say that two teaspoons of lemon zest pretty much equate to a whole lemon.