Cheesy Courgette Bread AKA Zucchini Bread

Tags

bread, Cheese, courgette, savoury, zucchini

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This quick and delicious bread is about as easy as it gets.  No mixers, no kneading but here are a few little handy tips to ensure it turns out perfectly each time.

Firstly, you must squeeze all the water out of the grated courgette.  This is really important or your bread will not cook and will remain a sticky, dense mess stuck to the bottom of your pan.  Believe me, this happened to me the first time.  There is no need to peel the courgettes though. Use a box grater to grate the veggies then squeeze all the water out firstly with your hands then using a clean dish towel wrap the grated courgette in it and wring it out with all your might.  Now, measure that you have about 1 ½ cups, packed very tightly.

Regarding the cheese, use a strong cheese.  I used a vintage gouda or you could use an aged cantal or vintage cheddar, something with lots of flavour.
For the herbs, I used basil and chives from my garden but feel free to improvise and use what you have on hand.  If you do not have any fresh herbs handy, do not despair, a few teaspoons of dried herbs will do.

In this recipe I used milk and vinegar to basically make my own buttermilk as it is not always something I have around, especially in times of limited shopping and lockdown.  If you have buttermilk, use 1 cup of that and leave out the vinegar.  Otherwise making your own buttermilk is the easiest thing ever: for one cup of milk, (I used full fat but you may use low fat if you prefer), add 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, mix and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. How easy was that?

For an extra cheesy version, sprinkle the top of the loaf with a few tablespoons of cheese and place under the grill for a few minutes.
Freezes beautifully too.

Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups grated courgette (2 medium)
1 ½ cups grated cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (basil & chives)
2 cups / 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup / 250ml milk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F
Spray a 23cm X 13cm (9″ x 5″) bread tin with non-stick cooking spray
Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl
In another bowl, mix the milk and vinegar and allow to sit for a few minutes (or use buttermilk)
Add to the milk, the egg and butter and stir
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined – do NOT overmix
Add the courgette, cheese and fresh herbs
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
Allow the bread to cool for 10 to 15 minutes in the tin
Remove from tin and place on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing
Add lots of butter and serve
Bon Appétit!

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Briam – Greek roasted vegetables

Tags

courgettes, greek, marrows, passata, potatoes, tomatoes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, zucchini

 

This is a Greek summertime favorite recipe. Crispy and fluffy potatoes, sweet, flavourful aubergines and juicy courgettes garnished with fresh herbs form an amazing vegetarian dish full of Mediterranean flavours.  The vegetables are coated with olive oil, flavoured with sweet onions and garlic and then baked to perfection.  You can even serve it hot or cold.  This popular dish is traditionally eaten with feta, but it’s also delicious with pork or lamb. Simply delicious!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 150 ml / 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large aubergine , halved length-ways, then thickly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 600g / 1.3 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm / 1/4″ -thick slices
• 6 medium tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 4 courgettes, sliced
• 300g / 10oz tomato passata (strained tomato sauce)
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley , finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 200°C /400°
Heat some olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened
In a large ovenproof dish spread the potatoes out in a single layer
Season with salt and pepper
Layer on the aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes
Add the onions and garlic
Pour the passata over the top, followed by the olive oil
Sprinkle with oregano and parsley and season generously with sea salt and ground black pepper
Cover the roasting tin tightly with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes
Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes or until the top has browned and vegetables are tender
Allow to cool slightly before serving
Enjoy!
If the vegetables have released a lot of juices, carefully pour them off into a wide pan and boil rapidly until nicely concentrated in flavour.

Pour back over the vegetables and leave to cool slightly before serving.

 

Courgette Cake with cream cheese icing

Tags

baby marrows, cake, courgette, cream cheese, frosting, icing, loaf, marrow, teatime, walnuts, zucchini

This is a wonderful, light anytime cake that’s not too sweet. Excellent way to use up all those giant courgettes from the garden!

It can be eaten plain or with a cream cheese lemon frosting, which bumps it up to the next level.

Ingredients:

• 200g (7 oz) grated courgette
• 150g (5 oz) caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 125ml (4 fl oz) vegetable oil
• 200g (7 oz) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 8 walnuts, chopped roughly

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 160C / 325F
Grease a loaf tin
In a bowl, beat together the courgette, sugar, egg and oil
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder
Stir in the cinnamon, lemon zest and walnuts
Stir the flour mixture into the courgette mixture just until blended
Pour the batter into the prepared tin
Bake 45 minutes until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean
Remove from heat and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely
Enjoy!

For a cream cheese frosting:
Mix together 1 packet Philadelphia cream cheese, 225g / 8oz, with 3 tablespoons mascarpone
Add the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon and/or zest
Blend well with 1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
Voila!