Ideas for courgettes

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Any ideas for a main meal dish based around courgettes, or a good way of preparing them to go with fish or another main meal dish? I have six in hand and am prepared to consider just about anything. Thanks in advance!

V simple but we like to slice them fairly thinly and then soften in a pan with some olive oil. Then crank up the heat, add garlic, chilli and lemon zest and get them slightly browned. Serve on pasta with feta cheese.

Courgette fritters?

I often do a sort of lightly sautéed side dish of thinly sliced red onion, cabbage and leeks with a bit of garlic. I think youncould replace or add courgettes and it would be lovely.

Stuffed courgettes are popular although I don't like them so have no good recipe.

I grate carrots and courgettes add some finely sliced white cabbage and some onions or spring onions to make a coleslaw. I use either a vinaigrette or mayonnaise/greek yoghurt dressing.

I grate some and add to the onions, peppers, mushrooms, herbs etc when making bolognese. Also, sliced and placed on top of Salmon or other fish, along with peppers, and optional dressing/herbs etc., when baking fish in tin foil parcel in oven.

I think courgettes can be very bland and watery so I prepare them as IdLike's suggestion ... also did some on the bbq this week - just simply sliced (lengthways) and rubbed with olive oil .. add herbs and spices if you want.

Ratatouille uses loads up.

Envious you have them already. The marauding slugs have decimated mine!

Ooh we always have a glut:

Courgette, onion and cheese quiche.

Courgette soup (half an onion, four/5 courgettes, 3/4 pint chicken stock, 1/2 tsp turmeric) and blitz. Parmesan

Lamb (big steaks) with onion, Courgette, tomato, bit of puree, and a small glass of pernod.

Ratatouille - a small glass of pernod lifts that too.

Fried slices as above

Little ones baked in the oven.

Slice lengthways and bung on the barbecue.

Courgette parmigiana https://www.mob.co.uk/recipes/courgette-parmigiana or this coconut curry https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/courgette-chickpea-coconut-curry

I also slice thinly, then griddle or bbq with lemon zest and olive oil. Tip over a bit more oil, sprinkle salt, add a little bit of feta and some mint.

Otherwise you could grate and mix with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, honey, poppy seeds, to make a salad (serve right away).

If you slice them very thin (using a mandolin) they are really nice raw with just mint, oil, lemon juice (there is a theme here!). Though for this I prefer the ones from the garden picked when they are about half the size they are in the shops as they are much tastier.

The Stanley Tucci pasta is gorgeous: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/285205/that-zucchini-spaghetti-stanley-tucci-loves-spaghetti-alla-nerano/

Also while this recipe looks like it’s all about the spinach the courgette pasta sauce is lovely. I always add a naughty bit of cream too: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pastawithcourgettesa_93036

I also think you can substitute a lot of vegetables for courgettes, think courgette parmigiana, courgette dauphinois, courgette bhajis… Often you can replace the standard vegetable with just courgettes but I will usually do 50:50 so I would use half the aubergines required in a parmigiana and then use courgettes for the remaining half.

I think James Martin has a nice courgette and lemon risotto. Make double what you need and make arancini from the leftovers.

I freeze when I have a glut. Slice in 1cm rounds, dip in tempura batter and dunk in hot oil for a few seconds each side. Drain on paper towels. Freeze when cool.

To use, put frozen rounds on a baking tray in the oven, to crisp up or just bung them in the air fryer.

Serve as a side dish with dipping sauce made of mixed soya sauce and hoisin sauce.
Or, if serving on its own, add a little salt to the batter.

Google Delia Smith’s vegetable mulligatawny soup - for some reason I couldn’t copy the link.

It’s delicious.

There's a Jamie Oliver recipe for linguini with courgette, lemon, mint and parmesan which is fab

Thickly slice courgettes, red onions and aubergines into rounds. Toss with a little olive oil and grill in oven till soft. (I use a George Forman grill)
Slice tomatoes and slice mozzarella.
Layer grilled vegetables with tomato slices, basil and mozzarella.
Make dressing with lemon juice, salt, pepper, chopped garlic and oilve oil. Pour over and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.
(You can omit the aubergine)

They are great sliced on skewers with halloumi, peppers, red onion and nice seasoning 👍

Claire Thomson (the 5 o’clock apron - check her out on Instagram) does this thing where she boils them whole, then squeezes them under pressure, and creates a sort of side dish/dip with them. My Instagram search isn’t working at the moment but she did it as one of her reels in the past fortnight, and it is lovely.

I think James Martin has a nice courgette and lemon risotto. Make double what you need and make arancini from the leftovers.

This is lovely.

Some great ideas here, many thanks. (They're not home grown, I'm afraid.)

https://www.recipetineats.com/zucchini-gratin-unintentionally-healthy/

This tian is delicious.

Send them my way @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g . I aim for a glut every year but never manage to get enough.
I also like marrows.

Courgette friiters. Grate, leave in drainer for 10 mins, SQUEEZE SQUEEZE out all excess fluid, small bit of flour, egg, i like to add chilli, salt/pepper, fry until crispy. We eat stacked with bacon, or halloumi, and chilli sauce. Yum.

I find they're a good substitute for aubergine - and cheaper.
I often make moussaka with them.

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/courgette-salad-with-mint-garlic-red-chilli-lemon-and-extra-virgin-olive-oil/ www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/courgette-salad-with-mint-garlic-red-chilli-lemon-and-extra-virgin-olive-oil/]]]]

I was going to say the same. I've normally been able to harvest at least a couple by this time of year.

Zucchini fritti aka courgette matchstick fries.

www.nigella.com/recipes/guests/russell-normans-zucchini-shoestring-fries

I hate courgettes (nasty, watery, bitter things) but I love these, they are one of my favourite foods.

Not very healthy but delicious.

They go well with fish or steak instead of chips or just as an appetiser with lemon and salt.

Roast with garlic a splash of balsamic and plenty of seasoning, sprinkle over Parmesan for last couple of mins in the oven. Simplicity at its best.