‘Courgette is my favourite vegetable’ said no one, never. Courgette is the chicken of the plant world: bland, boring and somehow finding its way onto our plates all the time.
Whether you know them as courgettes or zucchini, they are technically a fruit and also a summer squash. They are the beginner gardener’s glory, since they grow speedily and reliably in home gardens and allotments from July till October.
And there’s the rub: there’s usually such a glut of them, the question: ‘What to do with all those courgettes?’ invariably floods social platforms and message boards.
Here’s my input: top ten less common, tasty and rewarding recipes, from courgette fritters to courgette cake.
Coarsely grated courgettes caramelised in butter and olive oil, flavoured with basil and garlic are delicious – quite unlike courgettes! Is it a sauce, a condiment, a side dish? All of those and more.
Tian is a Provençal dish and it's also the dish it is cooked in. Simple. And the dish is simple too: courgettes and spinach baked with cheese, to put it crudely. Tian de courgettes is a great vegetarian recipe, and it can be served with plain rice.
Courgette and spinach tian
RECIPE
This is the dish to impress: hasselback courgettes roasted with harissa and a crunchy hazelnut dukkah topping make an easy vegan centrepiece, turning mild courgettes into a caramelised, spicy, nutty main or side dish.
Courgette fritters made with large yellow courgette slices fried in spicy coating. The seasoning is tomato and paprika, the coating – cornmeal, and it makes a great side dish or a perfect snack or starter.
You can cook them or you can serve them raw (in my view all the tastier for it). Raw courgette ribbons marinated with lemon and tossed with raisins, almonds, pistachios and nori flakes make a gorgeous salad made with just a vegetable peeler.
You can make them spicy and you can make them sweet: a courgette cake baked in a loaf tin with cinnamon and vanilla flavouring. This is a very easy cake recipe with sultanas in the mix and an optional simple icing.
Courgettes also make quite a decent loaf of bread. Courgette yeast-leavened bread flavoured with herbs is great for sandwiches, slices beautifully and toasts better. Sweet or savoury bread? Courgettes do both.
Courgette sandwich bread
RECIPE
Herby courgette pasta bake, with roasted garlic and Pecorino, simple and super-tasty. The best thing to do with courgettes? Bake them with pasta!
Oven roasted courgette with hot and sweet seasoning, a twist on Thomas Keller's viral ‘scored zucchini’ recipe. Are yellow courgettes better than the green? Between you and me, they taste pretty much the same.
Oven roasted courgettes with maple syrup
RECIPE
Sautéed courgettes with magic breadcrumb topping. Those breadcrumbs transform the blandest vegetables into a feast. They make children eat broccoli. They let you create pasta dishes that cost 5p a plate. And they work their magic on courgettes extremely well!
Courgettes with magic breadcrumbs
RECIPE