Three ways: courgette
Food writer Emily Gussin shares ideas for enjoying the summer glut of British courgettes
“WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO COOK COURGETTES, IT’S BEST TO DO THIS EITHER HOT AND FAST OR SLOW AND GENTLE”
Words & images: Emily Gussin
Courgettes are at peak season between July and September, although British-grown ones can arrive as early as May and as stay around until as late as October. Their creamy dense flesh and thick but tender green skins make courgettes easy to cook with, and thus popular for a wide variety of dishes.
During the high-summer glut, you can find a wide variety of courgettes at the market. Eye-catching yellow courgettes tend to be firmer and crisper, so are ideal for eating raw. Striped varieties may have slightly thicker skins so are better for a braise or longer cook, and spherical globe courgettes are perfect for stuffing. To stuff them, halve the courgettes and scoop out the inner seeds. Chop and saute these inners as part of the stuffing mixture or leave them to lightly pickle in lemon juice (as in the courgette ribbon salad below), to make sure there’s no waste.
When you cook courgettes, it’s best to do this either hot and fast or slow and gentle – landing somewhere in the middle tends to render them bitter. Try griddling or barbecuing slices, roasting chunks at a high heat (220C), or deep-frying sticks or slices in a light batter. At the other end of the spectrum, gently sauteing sliced courgettes in a pan for at least 30 minutes until they collapse into a jammy mess draws out their sweetness and fragrance. If you’re roasting them whole or halved, cook them at a medium heat (190C) and give them plenty of time.
Raw courgette is often underrated, but on a hot summer’s evening, when you don’t want to stand over the cooker, its versatility really shines through. Grating courgette is probably the quickest way to use it raw. This releases some of its moisture and means it’s instantly ready to stir through pasta (hot or cold) or provide the key ingredient for a salad.
Salting the courgette to draw out some moisture, then squeezing out the liquid, allows you to form it into balls, or use it for batters to make fritters or rosti. If you’re looking for larger pieces of raw courgette, keeping the slices thin is important if you want them to soak up your chosen dressing and be delicate enough to chomp on. A peeler or mandoline is your friend here.
1. Crayfish & courgette ribbon salad
Ribbons of courgettes make a brilliant base for a salad. Start by peeling the courgette into ribbons and plunging them into ice-cold water to help them crisp and curl. Add some little gem lettuce leaves to this water too. The inner, seedy core of the courgette is too tricky to peel but it can add another dimension to the salad and avoid unnecessary waste. Finely chop the core into small cubes, sprinkle them with salt, toss through some lemon juice, then set aside to lightly pickle. I paired my courgette ribbons with crayfish for a sophisticated and environmentally friendly take on a classic prawn cocktail.
2. Courgette & ricotta polpette
Courgettes are around 95 percent water, so when compressing them into polpette balls it’s important to squeeze out as much of that water as possible. The trick is to salt the grated courgette and leave it in a colander to draw out some of the excess water. After 20 minutes, you can tip them into a clean tea towel and wring it out – you’ll be surprised at how much liquid comes out. I’ve mixed the grated and drained courgettes with ricotta, dill, lemon zest and a little lemon juice then rolled the mixture into balls. These are great on salads, spread onto toast or tossed through hot pasta for a dinner that requires minimal cooking.
3. Tamarind & lime grilled courgettes
Grilling slices of courgette hot and fast gives you the perfect charred exterior and juicy, tender insides. They just need a light coating of oil and some salt and pepper. Hold your nerve, only turning them once, after the first side has clear charr lines and the flesh below has started to look a little translucent. Mix up a quick but punchy marinade, combining tangy tamarind paste, tart lime zest and juice, sweet date syrup or honey, and a little oil. Sprinkle over chopped coriander and toasted coconut chips for fragrance and crunch.
