Help, I'm being attacked by courgettes (zucchini)

Capt Lightning

Capt Lightning

Well-known Member
Location
Historic Buchan, Scotland
Suddenly and without warning, the courgette plants in my polytunnel are producing at a great rate. I've already got more than I know what to do with and can't even give them away. Some have grown quite large, others I have managed to harvest before they got too big.

We'll probably make some chutney etc, but any interesting ideas/recipes would be welcome.

The green beans are also coming ready and there will is a danger of beans with every meal unless we can find something to do with them.

I suspect that the combination of rain and heat have come at the optimum time to grow the fruit and veges. My mint and parsley plants are giving me a good crop too, so I'll make some tabbouleh to go with my green bean and courgette salads.
 

zucchini.jpg
Ingredients:

5 small zucchini or 3 large ones.
8 oz fresh mozzarella Try to use fresh if you can but shredded will work too.
24 ounces of good quality marinara sauce homemade (see below for recipe) or jarred sauce.
3 tablespoon olive oil.
1 teaspoon salt and pepper.
¼ cup fresh grated Parmesan.

Instructions:

Clean and wash 5 small zucchini.
Pre-heat a grill pan or a grill to medium heat. If you do not have either than pre-heat a large heavy bottom skillet.
Cut your zucchini lengthwise into ½ inch strips.
Drizzle the zucchini with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and pepper.
Once your grill or pan is ready, add the zucchini and cook for about 3 minutes per side.
Remove the zucchini from the pan and set aside.
Gently heat the marinara sauce on low heat.
Pre-heat the oven on high heat.
In a large, oven safe baking dish, scoop ½ cup of the marinara sauce and spread it out evenly.
Next, add the zucchini slices into the dish side by side but not overlapping. You may need 2 baking dishes if the zucchini are larger.
Take a tablespoon of the marinara sauce and place it on each slice of zucchini spreading it out. Keep doing this until all the zucchini is covered.
Cut 8 oz fresh mozzarella into thin strips and place over the zucchini. Don't worry too much about neatness here since it all melts.
Sprinkle ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan evenly over top of this.
Once your zucchini are all dressed with sauce and cheese, place the zucchini under the broiler until the cheese melts and is bubbly and just turning brown (about 3-4 minutes.)
Remove from the oven and serve with a side of pasta and the remaining marinara sauce.
I forgot the name of this dish, it's called: Italian Baked Zucchini.
 
Thanks for the thread @Capt Lightning !

No good ideas here, but we are about to be in the same place. Ate the first of our garden zucchini over the weekend and more are coming, lots more.
Capt Lightning said:
courgette
Click to expand...
New word to me. Maybe I'll use it when trying to give them away, sounds much more exotic.
 

Alligatorob said:
Thanks for the thread @Capt Lightning !

No good ideas here, but we are about to be in the same place. Ate the first of our garden zucchini over the weekend and more are coming, lots more.

New word to me. Maybe I'll use it when trying to give them away, sounds much more exotic.
Click to expand...
The name courgette is French, where courgette is a diminutive of "courge," meaning marrow.
la courge is vegetable marrow, whilst bone marrow is, la moelle.
 
Zuchini Skillet

*1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise, sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 1 can (15 oz each) Whole Black Beans, drained, rinsed
  • 1 can (14.5 oz each) Diced Tomatoes with basil and Garlic, undrained
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup instant white rice, uncooked
  • 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

​

  • STEP ONE​

    Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, undrained tomatoes, water and oregano. Increase heat and bring to a boil.

  • STEP TWO​

    Add rice; stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese.
This is my vegan son's favorite meal. I make it once a week.

​



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​

 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 ¼ cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions for Zucchini Bread IMG_0489.jpeg
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4-inch pans.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla together in a separate large bowl with an electric mixer until combined; add flour mixture and beat well. Stir in zucchini and walnuts until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
 
horseless carriage said:
The name courgette is French, where courgette is a diminutive of "courge," meaning marrow.
la courge is vegetable marrow, whilst bone marrow is, la moelle.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, you got me curious so I looked it up:

The plant has three names in English, all of them meaning 'small marrow': zucchini (an Italian loanword), usually used in the plural form even when only one zucchina is meant, courgette (a French loanword), and baby marrow (South African English). Zucchini and courgette are doublets, both descending from the Latin cucurbita, 'gourd'.

Zucchini
The name zucchini is used in American, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand[11] English. It is loaned from Italian, where zucchini is the plural masculine diminutive of zucca, 'marrow'.

In Italian, the masculine zucchino (plural: zucchini) is attested earlier and hence preferred by the Accademia della Crusca, the Italian language regulator. The feminine zucchina (plural: zucchine) is also found, and preferred by the Italian-language encyclopedia Treccani, which considers zucchino to be a Tuscan dialect word.

Zucchini is also used in Canadian French, Danish, German, and Swedish.

Courgette
The name courgette is used in British, Hiberno-, Malaysian, New Zealand,[11][14] and South African English. It is loaned from French, where courgette is a diminutive of courge, 'marrow'. Courgette is also used in Dutch.

Baby marrow
The name baby marrow is used in South Africa to name a zucchini harvested when extremely immature, the size of an index finger.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zucchini
 
Freezing Beans without Blanching First

How to Freeze Green Beans without Blanching
  1. Snap, snip, or cut off the ends.
  2. Cut or snap the green beans in halves or thirds if you desire (I usually leave them whole)
  3. Wash then drain in a colander; lay them out on towels to dry.
  4. Portion and bag the green beans; remove the air and seal.
  5. Label and date the bags, then freeze.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=free...hing&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ca&client=safari

IMG_0490.jpeg
 
The Great Zucchini Dilemma faced by novice gardeners. I think I remember a horror film where zucchini's took over San Francisco. People would wake up in the morning unable to move because they were entrapped in their beds by out of control zucchini vines.
 
Thanks for suggestions and the info about the origin of the name. I've also got a couple of marrows progressing nicely, but I've got plenty of uses for them. I'm wondering if I could use the courgettes instead of marrow in some recipes?
 
Have you ever eaten zucchini blossoms, Cap'n? They're delicious! Pick the blossoms and eat them, then you'll have fewer zucchini to worry about. You can batter dip and fry them or stuff them and fry them or bake them. You can add them to a frittata for breakfast. There are various batters and stuffings. I know you're a good cook, so this could be something different and fun for you to try.

I grew up eating zucchini flowers. My grandma and my favorite aunt made them and I looked forward to them every summer. Whenever my aunt was making them she'd call me and say. "Bella, I'm making flowers tonight." It didn't matter what I had on the docket. Nothing ever took precedence over Aunt Mary's flowers and I'd head over to her house lickety-split! Now I make them myself. Check out some of these recipes. I'm sure you'll find something of interest. :)

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=zuchinni+...ges&va=v&t=ha&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images


beerzuccfried2

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers Recipe with Ricotta, Bacon in a baking dish

Zucchini blossom frittata (photo by seaweedandsassafras.com)

Bella✌️
 
I have to pay $1 for a small one at the Farmers’ Market. Usually I grate a yellow and a green one for on top of my salads.
 
Capt Lightning said:
Suddenly and without warning, the courgette plants in my polytunnel are producing at a great rate. I've already got more than I know what to do with and can't even give them away. Some have grown quite large, others I have managed to harvest before they got too big.

We'll probably make some chutney etc, but any interesting ideas/recipes would be welcome.

The green beans are also coming ready and there will is a danger of beans with every meal unless we can find something to do with them.

I suspect that the combination of rain and heat have come at the optimum time to grow the fruit and veges. My mint and parsley plants are giving me a good crop too, so I'll make some tabbouleh to go with my green bean and courgette salads.
Click to expand...
I've planted them back in late 90s. If you don't pick them in time, standard 6-8 inches long, they grow to huge proportion.

I used them in a bread recipe, yummy, the big ones, I sliced up and fried them in butter and garlic and served as a side dish to steaks and baked potatoes.

Otherwise, it would be sliced or chips style, dipped in a tempura batter, deep fried and served with other deep fried vegetables and cheese sticks. Dipped into plain yoghurt, sour cream or salsa.

One veggie I never had the chance to grow but tried in a dish or two was Eggplant (known to me as Aubergine ).This wonderful veggie is delicious in a famous Greek dish, Moussaka. Otherwise, just pan fried with butter and garlic, side dish with steaks or chicken portions.

You've said your making chutney, or you can pickled them. Why can't you give them to neighbours, if you don't mind me asking?
 

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