Courgette Glory
One of my favourite vegetables is courgette, a zucchini for the Americans among us. At this time of the year courgettes come into their own, a good friend of mine grows them and often gives me some of her homegrown goods. Courgettes are very healthy, they are low in Saturated Fat and Sodium, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin A, Thiamine, Niacin, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese. the ideal food for the weight conscious.
Courgette’s can be steamed, well-seasoned, drizzled with a touch of good quality olive oil and served, they can be eaten raw, baked, fried, griddled or. air fried
They pair up well with mushrooms, tomatoes, leeks, and onions, they are wonderful in quiches, or a pashtida. cooked on the griddle, added to soup, as a base of ratatouille also added to kugels, latkes, and even grated into chocolate cake mixture to for an enriched flavour.
Below is of my favourite more unusual ways of using courgettes, I hope you enjoy them.
Roasted Courgette Dip serve 4-6
When living in Israel, i wanted a courgette dip that had flavour and didn't contain dairy products, gluten, or nuts as many of the recipes do, as I had guests coming who had a multitude of food intolerances, but really wanted a courgette dip.
The secret is roasting the courgette’s using good fresh ingredients , and not being scared to season the zucchini & the dip.
Ingredients
4 courgette’s washed peeled and cut cut into 8”s
1 whole garlic washed cut in half
2 large onions peeled washed cut into 8’s
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper .
1/2 teaspoon fine organic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( optional)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 peeled hard boiled eggs
3 sliced large flat mushrooms
¼ cup fresh bread crumbs, ( I use gluten free, but use the best bread you have in the house and crumb it in a food processor )
Few sprigs of Dill, Parsley or Thyme for decoration when serving
Method
Preheat the oven to 170c 338F gas mark 3
Place the courgettes ,with the onion ,garlic mushrooms in an ovenproof dish sprinkle liberally with sea salt and black pepper and add half the olive oil put uncovered in the oven and bake for 20 30 -minutes, set aside and let cool a little.
Place the roasted Courgettes, onions ,egg, bread crumbs, the thyme, parsley, the remaining, olive, oil, salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice into the food processor
Remove the soft roasted garlic from the skin by pressing down on the skin and taking it out with a teaspoon add to the food processor
Process everything together you might need to add a tea spoon of water if the courgettes i s are not so juicy season to taste , chill, serve with vegetable crudites, or warm flat bread , starter.