What a cliche. Too much courgette

[LoveFall]

Hi,

I have not grown courgette (zucchini here) for years and now I remember why. We went away for 5 days and that was enough time to grow some absolutely huge ones. Huge. As in close to a foot and a half long.

Yesterday I used up one with "zoodles" and made muffins. The muffins are edible but just barely. Too moist and rather tasteless.

I have just acquired a spiralizer and will use that, but does anyone have fool-proof ways of dealing with giant zucchini?

I sometimes grill slices but honestly no one could eat that much grilled zucchini.

Help!

I had a glut of them last year and made loads of pasta dishes

1. Grated courgettes with chilli and garlic with pasta and topped with Parmesan
2. Sliced with a tomato and onion sauce with lasagne sheets (and the normal lasagne white sauce)
3. Courgette frittatas (from bbc good food)

Making me yearn for courgettes now

Courgette, pea and mint soup is delicious.

I make moussaka with courgettes, & I find that courgettes & aubergines can often be interchangeable.
I usually cut them in half lengthways & scoop out the watery middle with a teaspoon.

I add spiralized "courgetti" to spaghetti just before the spag is cooked.

Roast a large volume with garlic, salt and pepper then just eat as a side, we can get through a large number this way. You can add them to pasta sauces or rice/couscous salad as well once roasted.

Chocolate cake, seriously. It's rich and moist, and if you blitz up the courgette really finely nobody will know.

Heres my go to recipe:
allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8425/best-chocolate-courgette-cake.aspx

You can grate it and freeze it in bags. Use it for adding bulk to stuff. Cook it from frozen not defrosted as it's too mushy that way. I think you can also freeze it in slices but I've not done that.
With very large ones you can cut in half, remove some from the centre and bake stuff in it with cheese on. Like bolognaise, ratatouille, or minced beef, gravy, onions etc.

Make the battered ones Greek style ? Not good for waistline but so good

www.mygreekdish.com/tag/zucchini/
This is a great website and with the Briam possibly you could freeze some

In fact you can put it in a lot of cakes as its so bland, I had a courgette cake with avocado buttercream the other day at a coffee shop, and it was surprisingly delicious

And those feta and courgette fritters are unbelievable 🐷

(from the link)

Hollow them out after slicing in half lengthwise. Fill with lamb mince, diced onion, diced courgette, and bake for 40 mins

www.blurb.co.uk/b/7257166-oh-no-not-another-bloody-courgette?ebook=589159

Peel it and dice it, use in soups. I peel it so the soup isn't green.

I. E :

An onion
Couple carrots
Diced and peeled courgette
Lentils
Chicken stock
Garlic, bay leaves

Follow the usual steps to make.

Swap it online for someone else's surplus?

This recipe is terrific. Use more than one if you need to, I’ve done 500g of it before now.

If you grate them, put into a clean tea towel and squeeze all the moisture out - you can then freeze easily and add to cakes etc when you want. Also add to any type of tomato sauce/ soup to add veg.

Soup, with plenty of chilli and a tub of Philly stirred through at the end - lush.

Cheese and courgette scones are good (squeeze out as much water as you can before adding). We also make a tomato and courgette 'stew' to which we add chorizo / red kidney beans. Top with parmesan.

Ditto pp about lasagne.

We cook as many as we can by using them in meals we can freeze. Then when the growing season is over we have a big stock of 'ready meals' for days we don't want to cook.

I grate it into mince and make bolognaise - usual other ingredients obvs and it just melts in and vanishes but I think/hope/assume you get some sort of nutrition from it

I have loads atm after filling the freezer.

I often use them in fajitas instead of peppers (they are cheaper and normally better on the food miles).

But i have so many atm i intend to do a courgette and apple chutney later this week with my glut.

Slice them and leave them in a lemony French dressing for half an hour. Grill them for two minutes on one side, then turn them over and put some feta cheese on each. Back under the grill for another two minutes.
Add a drop of Tabasco to each of you like them a bit spicy. Good for a quick lunch.

I too have a glut right now too. I've done courgette cake which is incredibly moist and delicious. Easy to freeze too for unexpected guests.

I've been looking up recipes and am keen to try the following. The jam is especially for large marrow/courgettes which have overgrown apparently.
www.talesfromthekitchenshed.com/2015/08/courgette-ginger-jam/

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/crunchy-courgette-pickle

@bestbefore

I grate it into mince and make bolognaise - usual other ingredients obvs and it just melts in and vanishes but I think/hope/assume you get some sort of nutrition from it

I do this too!

Also, there is a tastier muffin recipe that Sainsbury's did - has carrots and spring onions and nutmeg in it as well as courgette and plain yogurt too I think.

Roast them with other veg and serve with cous cous - that's what I'm having for tea tonight.

Think Otto Lenghi have some nice griddled courgette salad recipes too?

You could share with local people if you really can’t get through them all. The Olio app and Freecycle would be my first shout, or a food bank.

Have to say I’m impressed at the sizes!

Also good baked in garlic, salt & pepper, chilli flakes and olive oil - quite simple but a good accompaniment
I’d do this lengthways with shop ones but as they are large probably slices on the angle would be better.

@Mintjulia

Slice them and leave them in a lemony French dressing for half an hour. Grill them for two minutes on one side, then turn them over and put some feta cheese on each. Back under the grill for another two minutes. Add a drop of Tabasco to each of you like them a bit spicy. Good for a quick lunch.

Gosh that sounds amazing 🥰 have screen shot that recipe

Sliced, griddled, scattered with olive oil, lemon zest, chillie flakes and chopped mint and left in the fridge to be added to lunches etc.

Nigella's courgette, feta and mint fritters

Sliced thinly and added with creme fraiche and parmesan to a sheet of puff pastry for a quick tart

Courgette chips. Divine

finely chopped and sauteed in olive oil for just a min, warming rather than cooking. chuck onto a plate and add parmesan shavings and some toasted almond flakes. Quick and delicious.