I didn’t start growing courgettes until about 9 years ago. I didn’t think that they tasted of much and they took up a lot of my growing room. When I retired, my food budget drastically reduced and so I looked for crops that would produce a lot without much input. I also needed something that I could grow in a tub or a bucket. By now I was realising that a courgette was more adaptable than I had realised.
Did you know that they are really a fruit? I found out that if you harvest courgettes regularly before they get too big that they will yield a large harvest. I often get about 22 fruit per plant and I usually have around 20 plants. It is our summer staple that ends up in most of our meals, but I also freeze some for use over winter. I blanch them before freezing.
The seeds can be sown outside after the last frost, but I usually start mine in March inside. They are quite large by the time I put them in the tubs which helps protect them from slug damage. I acclimatise them slowly by putting them outside during the day and then bringing them inside at night. There are lots of varieties and colours of courgettes. We like to have a mix of yellow and striped ones. Even though I grow about 20 plants, ‘normal’ people grow 4 or 5! The leaves can some times get some white mildew on them caused by water but this does not usually impact on the crop.
This year they struggled initially due to the rain and the cold weather, but also due to the lack of insects to pollinate them. I therefore hand pollinated them with a cotton ear bud. The female flower is swollen at it’s base where as the male flower is on a thin stalk. Often the male flowers are the most prolific at the start of the season. Some times I pick these, fill them with cream cheese, and batter them and fry them when we are having a picky lunch. I hate waste of any kind. The flowers are lovely and large and bright yellow and brighten the garden in early spring.
Courgettes do not contain a lot of calories as they are mainly water, but they do contain a lot of vitamin C which helps the immune system. They also contain potassium which helps regulate blood pressure. Courgettes are also a source of protein, fibre are are full of anti-oxidants. There are proven benefits to eye health, heart health, and blood sugar levels associated with eating them. Luckily they can be eaten raw or cooked. The only down side is that they do contain oxalates which can cause kidney stones and so I am careful not to eat too many a day and to not eat them at the same time as other vegetables that contain them (eg spinach).
Ways that I use courgettes (zucchini} in my meal plans.
- I stuff the larger ones with mince or a vegetarian filling and sprinkle bread crumbs on the top that are mixed with cheese and herbs,
- I make fridge pickles with them to eat with salad or to put in burgers.
- I squeeze some of the juice out of them and make fritters with them and other vegetables.
- I make cheesy courgette bites and have them as a snack served with a tomato type sauce or as a side.
- I spiralise them and mix them with spaghetti or use them as a spaghetti substitute in meals
- I slice the larger ones, griddle them and use them in a lasagne instead of pasta.
- Griddle them on a BBQ when they have been brushed with a herby oil.
- Grate them raw into a salad
- Saute them in a frying pan in butter
- Use them in curries
- Grate them in to bolognaise sauce
- Use them in ratatouille
- Make cakes out of them when water has been squeezed out
- Grate them into bread or pizza bases
- Add to stir fry
- Use them in soup
- I save the ends for vegetable stock
- This year I want to dry some larger ones and dehydrate them into flour.
- Use them in veggie and cheese tarts made on pastry
- Bulk out sausage meat with grated courgette and carrot when making sausage rolls.
- Put them on skewers with other veg and meat
- Make courgette jam
- Put them in risotto
- Grate them into a pancake mix.
- Add to quiches.
Courgettes last about a week in the fridge. If they are allowed to become large they will store out of the fridge. I have had some that I have stored until March that were the size of marrows.
How do you use your courgettes?
We love them pan fried with lemon juice and black pepper. I recently did some to eat cold with lemon juice and zest. They were delicious. If I’m cooking a ragu will often chop them small so they become part of the sauce.
They are nice with lemon zest. We did them like that when we entertained friends. Thanks for sharing
Im just becoming a convert, I only have two plants and we are getting quite a few fruits. Last week I grated them and made fritters with a spicy yogurt dip.
Some I will chop and freeze to help bulk meals out in winter and Im trying to find new recipes to persuade my husband to try to enjoy them 😁
I tend to spice them up so that Mr S will eat them. We even have them in wraps with peppers and salad. I am glad that they are producing now as I know that they were slow like mine. Thanks for commenting
I think a lot of ours go into ratatouille, some of which is frozen for winter. I still have some spirals frozen for use as a spaghetti substitute. They go into chutney with our rhubarb. If we have stir fries or risotto they go in.
We like them cooked on a barbecue also. I have put them in quiches as they are very adaptable. I didn’t know they can help towards causing kidney stones, I knew rhubarb does so I suppose the chutney we make using both isn’t as healthy as I thought.
I doubt that you will eat enough of it in a day to cause problems. It sounds nice. What do you eat it with? Thanks for commenting
Oh my would never thought so many uses for a courgette,I definitely will look at them with a different view! I have added them to curries and Bolognese and on BBQs before. Thanks for sharing ☺️
No worries. Thanks for commenting
I didn’t know that they can cause kidney stones if too many are eaten in one go.
I love the recipes. Thank you.
Yes I only found that out recently as well. It is suprising how many vegetables do, but they have to be eaten in quantities. Thanks for commenting
Brilliant ideas for future meals here Toni, many thanks for sharing courgette recipes x
Thanks, and thanks for commenting
Thanks for the info. I have two large ones at the moment and I think all your ideas are brilliant especially stuffing them with mince (either curried mince or Italian style mince).
No worries. I have never filled with curry but we do like Italian style mince in it. Thanks for commenting
Love a courgette, great in a salad and instead of pasta
Absolutely and can hide in lots of food to bulk it out too. I grated some into an apple pie today and no one noticed! Thanks for commenting
I’ve had no courgettes on my plant yet but it’s my first time and I was late planting so I’m still hoping for some , some good ideas there thank you
Fingers crossed for you. Yes I plant mine inside in March and so they were already flowering this year by the time I could keep them outside. I tend to hide them in anything that I can! Thanks for commenting
I love making courgette quiche. I need to try in cakes but keep putting off as I think the cake may taste of courgette!
The bigger the courgette, the less chance the cake has of tasting of courgette, apparently. I haven’t had any taste of courgette yet. I guess if you use chocolate or coconut or something strong tasting, there is less chance of tasting courgette. I hate beetroot but made a chocolate cake with it that tasted lovely.
I have picked up 14 from a food hub as they have a glut. If I spiralise them for freezing do I have to blanch them.
I plan to cook some with our home grown onions for freezing ready for winter soups, stews, bolognese etc. Thank you.
I don’t. That is a good haul. Make sure you double bag the onions as they can make other things like cakes taste of onion. Thanks for sharing