A Summer of Courgettes

It's been a whole two years since I last posted here, but the past few weeks' insane courgette production has forced me to come up with so many different things to do with them, that I thought I'd share a couple of super simple, quick little courgette recipes that I've been making. You'll notice they contain almost identical ingredients, because that's what's in season right now!

I love me some courgettes, and this year I've grown two varieties - the classic, green ones you can buy in supermarkets (I think we've got 'Ambassador'), and a beautiful Italian-style, yellow, globe variety ('Floridor') which not only look amazing, they taste it too. If you pick them when they're about the size of a cricket ball, you can use them exactly as you would a standard courgette, and they're ideal for the first recipe below. If you leave them to get a bit bigger, the seeds grow too, and they become a bit more squash-like, so they're perfect for scooping out and stuffing like a marrow (I did them with a vegan mushroom stuffing, which I might also share soon), but they're so much more flavoursome than a marrow, and they haven't got that gross wet texture that marrows have.

Griddled (or BBQ'd) summer veg with basil drizzle
This first recipe is a cooked dish, but as Rowan's been away this past week I've been making myself enough to have half warm for dinner and the rest cold for lunch the next day. It's best done on a griddle pan or BBQ, to get those tasty charred lines on the veg, but a frying pan will do fine. It's delicious either way. I've been using the globe courgettes for this one, but it's just as good with normal ones sliced lengthways. It looks like a lot of steps, but it's actually dead simple.
Serves 2

Ingredients
for the drizzle 
A good handful of basil leaves, (approx the amount in those little supermarket bags should do it, or around 40 leaves)
1 small clove garlic
Juice of half a lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
approx 1tsp sea salt

for the veg
1-2 globe courgettes, sliced into 1cm thick rounds
1 red pepper, cored and quartered, then cut in half horizontally to make chunks
Handful of french beans, topped and tailed
10-12 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped or crushed
10-12 pitted olives, halved (kalamata or nocellara are my favourites, but use whatever you like)
Olive oil 
Sea salt and black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the finely chopped garlic, a pinch of sea salt and a good grind of black pepper, and set aside to allow the garlic to infuse the oil a bit while you make the drizzle and prepare the veg (this will be the oil you use to cook the veg).

Next, combine basil, garlic and lemon juice in a different bowl with the pinch of salt, and add a good slug of the nicest olive oil you've got (better olive oil = better flavour) and blitz it all up with a stick blender (or blend them in whatever manner works for you). Test the consistency - you want it wet enough to drizzle, so if it's too thick or dry, add a little more oil or even a little cold water. Cover and leave to get all delicious while you prepare and cook the vegetables.

Cut up your veg as suggested, then use a pastry brush to apply a little of your garlicky oil (try to get some of the garlic bits on there too) to one side of the courgette slices before placing each on your hot griddle pan in one layer - they all need to be touching the griddle, so you probably won't fit all the slices in at once. They should sizzle as soon as you set them down. Allow them to cook for a couple of minutes on this side, until you can turn them over and see good, dark char lines and the flesh is looking softer. You want them to be almost burned. Brush the top sides with more oil and flip them over to cook on the other side. Remove cooked slices to a  large dish or plate, and do the same with the pepper, leaving some of the oil mix to toss the beans in. You can really burn the pepper skin to get it super tasty. Cook the beans in the same way, allowing the last of the garlic bits to cook in the pan with them, until they're softened but retain just a little bite - I find shaking the pan, or stirring them, rather than trying to turn each individual bean makes things easier!

Chuck (or nicely arrange, depending on how fancy you're feeling) it all in the same dish, with all the cooked, blackened garlic bits from the pan, and add the tomatoes and olives, before drizzling with plenty of the basil dressing. Serve hot or cold with good bread to mop up the juices, or on a bed of quinoa or brown rice.

______________________________

Courgettes in lemon marinade
This simple little number came about when I really had to eat some of the courgette glut while Rowan was away, but I needed something I could prepare in the evening before going to yoga, so I could eat as soon as I got back. It was a super hot day and I really didn't want to be standing over the cooker or using the oven, so I decided this might be a good way to have the courgettes raw. It's dead easy, and can be served as a courgette-only side, but I've added some suggestions to make a full meal and use up some more allotment gluts!
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 courgettes, thinly sliced into discs
Zest and juice of one lemon
Sea salt and black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Lay your courgette slices out on a wide dish or plate, then use the fine side of a grater, or a lemon zester, to grate the lemon zest all over them. Now squeeze on the juice, ensuring you cover as much of the courgettes as you can, and sprinkle all over with a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Cover with a pan lid or foil to keep in the moisture and keep out the fruit flies, and leave for an hour or two (no longer or it will get soggy).

When you're ready, drizzle over a little good olive oil, stir it all up and serve as is for a side dish, or wilt some spinach/chard/beet tops in a pan with olive oil, finely chopped spring onion, a pinch of salt, nutmeg and black pepper and mix together with the courgettes, some steamed broad and/or French beans, some halved cherry tomatoes and some torn basil leaves. The veg is so fresh tasting that it goes well with roasted, skin-on new potatoes - I recommend cooking them with rosemary and garlic for extra tastiness!

Thai-Style Coconut Curry

I'd planned to post here a lot more frequently than I have been so far. Other projects, and a nasty case of illustrator's-block, have been getting the better of me. In the run-up to, and just after, Christmas, I was preparing new work for a joint-show with my brother at Dean Heritage Centre in the Forest of Dean. That work is now on sale at DUKKI in the Broadmarsh Centre here in Nottingham, along with my handprinted cotton totes and lots of mounted original prints. It's up there for one more week, so if you're in the area please do go and check it out. They also sell the work of local artist Ian Jones, and the shop is a treasure trove of Nottingham-themed fun. I've been trying to devote the rest of my time to getting my children's book going, but my brain seems to be shutting down on that right now, so I thought it might be time to do something a little different to get the old creative juices flowing. And that, of course, means food.

This Thai style curry is incredibly simple and very quick to make and can be quite convenient too, if you keep the staple ingredients on-hand. Ginger and chillies, for example, can be bought in bulk from the market (you can often find bowlsful for £1 each) and then frozen. Ginger should be broken or cut into thumb-size pieces before freezing, so you don't need to defrost it before use; the skin slices off easily and much more thinly than from fresh, and the naked root can then be grated finely. Chilli juice gets onto your fingers far less when the fruit is cut frozen, so there's much less risk of rubbing it into your eyes, and the seeds are easier to remove that way too, if that's your bag. Lemongrass is quite easy to come by these days, but for convenience you can buy it as a puree in jars, which can then be kept in the fridge. My top-tip for coconut milk? Buy it from the 'world foods' section of the supermarket (or from a specialist Asian-food shop), where you'll often see it far cheaper than on the 'standard' aisles. The same goes for spices, rice, lentils, tinned pulses, noodles and non-wheat flours like gram and rice.

                                                                                                                                                                   (c) Becca Thorne 2015

The veg I've used here are just what I had on hand the other night, but you can use pretty much anything depending on what's available or what you want to use up. Other veg that work: Celeriac, finely sliced; frozen peas (add these with the coconut milk towards the end); sugar snap or mange touts; french beans; carrots, julienned; courgette; pretty much any brassica..... I wouldn't recommend tomatoes or parsnips, but if you can stir-fry it you can chuck it in here. If you're not using a 'harder' veg, like sprouts/cauli/broccoli that might require a bit of extra cooking, you can skip the water.

Thai-Style Coconut Curry

Serves 2-3

For the puree
2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves discarded, stalks roughly chopped (or 2 heaped teaspoons lemongrass puree)
1 red chilli, roughly chopped (pick the right spice level for you. I use medium hot and leave the seeds in)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Stalks and half the leaves of 1 bunch coriander (standard supermarket pack)
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Tablespoon light soy sauce

For the curry
1 aubergine, cubed
approx 1/2 pack chestnut mushrooms, halved
8-10 sprouts, halved
Half a cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 red pepper, cored, quartered and finely sliced
4 spring onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
1 tin coconut milk

Place all puree ingredients in a bowl, along with a little of the coconut milk (liquid only, but reserve the cream) and blitz to a smooth paste. Set aside.

In a good-sized wok, heat approx 1 tablespoon oil (I used olive, you could use any other oil of not-too strong a flavour - groundnut, rapeseed, coconut) and add the cauliflower and sprouts. Fry on a high heat, tossing frequently, for a couple of minutes until they start to brown a little, then add water to about 1cm deep. Keep over a high heat and allow the water to vigorously boil off until the veg is almost soft. Pour off any left-over water, add a little extra oil if needed and throw in all the rest of the veg except the spring onions. Toss or stir frequently until everything is just cooked and then turn down the heat to med-low and stir in the puree. Allow to cook briefly, stirring frequently to prevent burning, and then pour in the remaining coconut milk, including any solid cream, and the spring onions. Allow to bubble gently for a few minutes while you finely chop the remaining coriander leaves, then stir that in too. Remove from the heat. It should still be quite wet and very fragrant. Taste the sauce and add a touch more soy sauce if you feel it's necessary, but maintain the freshness of the puree flavours.

Serve immediately over noodles.

Ciambella con Frutta Secca, or Mummy Thorne's Little Cakes Recipe

We're back in the UK now, currently homeless but staying with Rowan's parents in Rutland while we find a place to live in Nottingham. We visited my parents in the Forest of Dean at the weekend, and spent Sunday meandering around Malvern and eating a tasty pub lunch at British Camp, followed by a tentative rummage through the pile of furniture and crap we stored in their barn to find our cooler weather clothes, taking great care not to disturb the bat guano scattered all over the protective dust sheets.

 My mum almost always has a batch of her delicious fruit cake-style fairy cakes ready for us when we visit. In our family they're affectionately known as Little Cakes to distinguish them from mum's normal-sized fruit cakes (she makes an excellent fruit cake too). They're incredibly simple, and to me they taste comfortingly of home; memories of lazy Sunday evenings spent watching Ski Sunday and the Antiques Roadshow, eating sandwiches made from leftover roast, mum's coleslaw and homemade pickled onions, with Little Cakes for pudding. I used her recipe while we were in Italy to make a very tasty ciambella - a sort of Italian Bundt cake - during a big thunderstorm. I adapted it a little to make it a bit more ciambella-y (I added marsala), but otherwise this is all my mum's recipe, and it worked just as well for ciambella as for fairy cakes.

                                                                                                                    (c) Becca Thorne 2014

This makes either one ciambella or approximately 12 little cakes. It's in ounces, as that's how mum gave it to me (she's been making these a long time), and I used this page to convert the original quantities to cups as I had no scales.

Ingredients
8oz plain flour
6oz butter
4oz sugar
2 eggs
2tsp baking powder
8oz dried mixed fruit/sultanas
A little milk - dairy or non-dairy
Optional: a generous glass of marsala or the tasty liquid of your choice - brandy, whisky, amaretto, sherry or Earl Grey tea would all work well - plus just enough apple or orange juice to cover the dried fruit in a small mixing bowl. Omit the milk if you do this.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

If using, soak the fruit in the marsala and juice for 10-15 minutes.

Lightly grease your ciambella pan, or line your fairy cake moulds with cake papers.
Cream the butter and sugar together until fairly smooth. Using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a tablespoon or so of flour with each to prevent curdling.
Fold in the rest of the flour and the baking powder. If the mixture feels a little stiff or dry, add either a little milk or, if using, the soaking liquid from the fruit, to loosen it up to a good dropping consistency. Fold in the fruit.
Spoon the mixture into your pan or papers. If making individual cakes, sprinkle with a little demerera sugar. Bake in the centre of your oven for 15-20 mins until golden and a clean, sharp knife inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes, then remove onto a wire rack to cool fully. Keeps well in an airtight box for several days.