courgette | Baldock Allotment Association

We’ve all been there; you reach the point where you just can’t give your excess courgettes away. You’ve given some to everyone you know at work and to members of your family, so what to do now?

A recent blog post by Matt Peskett at Grow Like Grandad is a really useful one to bookmark as not only does it include a big long list of recipes using courgettes (separated by type), but Matt has also indicated how many courgettes are needed for each recipe which saves a lot of toing and froing trying to find a recipe which uses the amount or number of courgettes that you are trying to use up!
You can read the post here.

In the meantime, here’s a simple rustic recipe from BALGA member, Jon Jones.

Courgettes with baby tomatoes

Ingredients

2 or 4 small courgettes or 1 large courgette
15ml thick olive oil
French tarragon, whole basil leaves or fresh oregano
Baby tomatoes

Method

If using a large courgette, slice into 1cm (half inch) slices.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry smaller courgettes whole like sausages, turning until they are evenly brown.
Or fry slices from large courgette.

5 minutes prior to courgettes being full cooked, add the baby tomatoes together with your chosen herb. Season with fresh ground pepper to taste.

Continue cooking until the tomatoes are on the verge of collapsing.

Serve immediately, or dish can be allowed to cool and eaten cold.

Ah….courgettes! One of the vegetables most allotment folk grow and look forward to harvesting……until the glut kicks in!

As a veg grower, it is always best to sow at least a few seeds when growing a crop but courgette seeds are usually good germinators. Sow them individually in small pots for best results. However, whilst you may have sown half a dozen seeds which become seedlings and then healthy plants, once you’ve planted them out the realisation hits you that you may just have grown a few too many plants. Once they start cropping, the courgettes keep coming! And whoa betide the allotment tenant who misses a few and finds they have now grown a couple of marrows!

Joking aside though, courgettes are actually quite a versatile crop. Google ‘courgettes recipes’ and you are inundated with a wide variety of suggestions from cakes, gratins and currently en vogue, spiralizing them!

And talking of versatility, don’t forget courgette flowers are also edible and quite a delicacy; deep fried in batter being a popular recipe. Pick them just as they are opening.

Once established, the plants throw up both male and female flowers with the female flowers being easily recognisable because they have a small fruit behind them. The plants can take up a lot of space and need a lot of watering in hot weather but regular watering will ensure better quality fruit. Pick the fruit when they are young and thin, perhaps around 5″ long and always cut them from the plant with a knife; twisting and pulling them off will damage the plant.

One of the best things about growing courgettes, is the varieties available including yellow ones. There are quite a few heritage varieties out there too.

My only courgette regret this year……not growing any. I actually feel a bit left out that I’m not suffering from a courgette glut!

Tag: courgette

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