Stuffed courgette

Tags

baked vegetables, courgettes, lunch, mince, stuffed vegetables, Veal

These stuffed courgettes are typical fare in France and especially in the South of France. There are numerous recipes for these famous stuffed vegetables, but this is one of my favourites. As we enter summer here in the northern hemisphere, we are starting to see all the typical summer vegetables start to arrive at the local weekly markets and courgettes are one of the most abundant and my favourites. I have used round courgettes here but you can use large beefsteak tomatoes, onions and aubergines too, it’s sometimes nice to stuff an assortment of vegetables this way, so your guests have a choice of which vegetable they prefer.

I made the stuffing in advance, assembled it all and popped it in the oven for 45 minutes once my lunch guests had arrived.

I used veal mince but you can use beef, pork sausage or ground chicken or even if you are vegetarian, omit the meat and add some cooked rice or quinoa in its place.

Serve these delicious stuffed vegetables with a green salad and a crusty baguette to mop up the juices and a glass of wine. voila – perfect, simple summer lunch.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 round courgettes
1 tablespoon olive oil
400g / 15oz ground veal
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 red or yellow pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180C / 360F
Cut the tops off the courgettes, keeping them to use as lids and using a pointed spoon, hollow out the centres of the courgettes and keep the flesh
Place the courgettes in a baking dish and set aside
Heat some oil over medium heat in a sauté pan
Add the onions and peppers and cook until soft and translucent
Add the garlic, courgette flesh, tomatoes and meat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
Add salt, pepper, cumin and herbs
Spoon the mixture into the courgettes and place the tops back on top of the courgettes Drizzle a little olive oil over and around the stuffed vegetables and bake for 45 minutes, or until well browned and the vegetables are soft, but still holding their shape
Serve hot or at room temperature
Enjoy!

Courgette flower fritters – shrimp and fromage frais filled

Tags

appetiser, appetizer, courgette flowers, fritters, fromage frais, shrimp, tempura, zucchini blossoms

Deep fried stuffed courgette blossoms have a special place in my food memory banks. To be honest, I do not remember the restaurant but I remember that I was about 12 years old, in Paris, with my mother and we went out to eat and were served this amazing amuse bouche, a tasty mouthful of hot, beignet or fritter. It was simple yet fabulous. I had no idea what it was but so enjoyed it that we asked the chef and discovered that we had just eaten a deep fried courgette flower stuffed with goat cheese and fresh herbs. Since then, they are one of my favourite starters or nibbles with an aperitif so when it is courgette season, do yourself a favour and get some fresh flowers and make this quick, simple yet superb recipe. By the way, courgettes are known as zucchini or marrows in different countries. These flowers I picked from my garden a few minutes before making the dish.

The fritters are coated in a tempura batter which is very quick and easy to whip up. It is very light and crispy when cooked and not in the slightest bit oily. The traditional way of making tempura calls for cold water and ice cubes but I find that ice cold sparkling water makes an excellent light batter.

Straight from my garden

The filling

Filled and ready to be dipped in the batter and fried

Serves 4

Ingredients:

fritters
3 or 4 blossoms per person (12 to 16)
16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup fromage frais or ricotta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs, minced (basil, parsley, chives)
batter
100 g / 3 1/2 oz flour
40 g / 1 1/2 oz cornflour (maizena)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
200 ml / 3/4 to 1 cup ice cold sparkling water

Peanut oil, for frying
Tartar sauce and chilli sauce for serving

Preparation:

batter
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cornflour into a bowl
Whisk in the cold sparkling water and mix well but do not overmix
Place in the refrigerator until ready to use, not more than 1 hour
The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream
fritters
Cut the shrimp into small pieces and place in a bowl
Add the soft fromage frais, salt and pepper and mixed herbs and mix well
Clean the blossoms with a damp towel, do not wash them
Gently pry the blossoms open and with your fingers carefully remove the pistil and stamen and discard
Divide the filling among the blossoms and twist the top of each blossom gently to seal it
Heat the oil, you want about 1 1/2 cm / 1/2 ” in a large skillet, until very hot but not smoking
Working one by one, dip the blossoms in the batter, coating them well and place in the hot oil
You will need to do this in batches as you do not want to crowd the skillet
Fry the fritters about 1 1/2 minutes per side, the coating should be golden brown
Remove from the oil and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel
Serve immediately with the dipping sauces
Enjoy!