Courgettes, courgettes and more courgettes...

joedenise

C_J said:

You can train them up trellis so that they don’t sprawl all over the garden!

Thanks; may well give that a go next year.  Think it's probably a bit late for this year!

Brambling

joedenise said:

The trouble is they wander all over the garden and because I grow nearly everything in pots I have to keep moving them apart a bit more and I'm running out of space to move them to!  I've never tried pumpkins and don't think I've ever eaten it!

 I'm not sure I would grow them again but if you like butternut squash I think you're like pumpkin it makes nice soup sprinkled with feta cheese.  Worth looking out for after Halloween when you can often pick them up cheap just make sure they are the ones suitable for eating 

I picked two courgettes tonight and will rehome with a friend tomorrow, I'm sure when she said I'll take one she meant two   . Unfortunately this year I seem to be reacting to the leaves and tonight worst than usual,  I have spent the last couple of hours with a cold wet flannel wrapped around one arm I must remember to wear long sleeves in the future 

REJP

My neighbour has a glut of courgettes.  She has made a large stew in pressure cooker, with a good helping of courgettes, and frozen single portions for meals which can be microwaved later.
also gave me and another neighbour enough for us to do the same.  Those that I did not freeze with stew I cut lengthways and scooped out the pips, filled the grooves with lamb mince and grilled them.
Those that were left over went in the freezer with the others.
Any surplus can be offered to people who do not grow their own.   Don't let them grow too big like small marrows, but if that happens I remember a friend made marrow jam from his.  
A friend told me he pickled some, but I don't know how well that worked.  Never tried pickled courgettes but someone on this forum will have the answer.

pollysg

Brambling said:

joedenise said:

The trouble is they wander all over the garden and because I grow nearly everything in pots I have to keep moving them apart a bit more and I'm running out of space to move them to!  I've never tried pumpkins and don't think I've ever eaten it!

 I'm not sure I would grow them again but if you like butternut squash I think you're like pumpkin it makes nice soup sprinkled with feta cheese.  Worth looking out for after Halloween when you can often pick them up cheap just make sure they are the ones suitable for eating 

I picked two courgettes tonight and will rehome with a friend tomorrow, I'm sure when she said I'll take one she meant two   . Unfortunately this year I seem to be reacting to the leaves and tonight worst than usual,  I have spent the last couple of hours with a cold wet flannel wrapped around one arm I must remember to wear long sleeves in the future 

I have the same reaction, worsening every year!  I bought some long leather gauntlets ( up to my elbows) off amazon to cover up last year, following scratches which ended up with antibiotics for a swollen arm. 

Love all the recipes, thanks everyone. 😊👍

a_house_is_still_a_dream

We grow the yellow courgettes and we slice them up while the courgettes are still firm and put them on pizzas before we put them in the oven. Another way to get the kids to eat more veg.

Otherwise we just put them in with other veg as steamed as a a side to a roast dinner or in a spaghetti bolognese sauce.

mumf

Late to the party,but... I grow spaghetti marrows.They sprawl everywhere,and I have made a trellis for them to climb,and they do really well.I grow them with nasturtiums,and together they are a sight!

We used courgettes last night. Chopped two large ones finely,and set to slowly sizzle in a good glug of olive oil and plenty of garlic and finely chopped onion. Good pinch of salt,and let them soften to a sort of mush. Tip in a tin of chopped tomatoes,and a squeeze of tomato puree.Some tinned borlotti beans that had been simmering until soft went in,twist of pepper ,chopped or dried herbs of your choice and a pinch of chilli,just to give a bite.!et it stew awhile,whilst you boil your favourite pasta.Mix together,and add some grated cheese.I used pecorino,but I have used cheddar in the past. We had a green salad,some nice bread,glass of vino ,and wallop! Full bellies all round!

joedenise

That sounds nice mumf!  I grew spaghetti squash years ago when I was very much younger and had a bigger garden.  The kids were fascinated by the spaghetti like middle but have to say it was probably the blandest veg I have ever tasted!

We had some fried discs of courgette with our dinner last night and they are just so nice like that.  I've used some finely diced in various things like savoury mince, curry etc.  Still have another 2 in the fridge to use and haven't even checked the pots yet!  I'm sure there's going to be another couple ready this morning.

May change my dinner for tonight to use your recipe mumf!  Will use up some more of the courgettes and I'm sure will taste much nicer than egg, chips & beans!

arh

 I collect courgette recipes for the glut. Also love courgette salad with ribbons of courgette using a potato peeler, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and chopped herbs, same dressing with griddled courgettes. Try courgette potato and cheddar soup or courgette and cheddar soda bread from the bbc website. My latest find is Otam Ottolenghi 's burnt courgette dip, widely available online

solentb

A neighbour has just given me a courgette from her allotment but it's the size of a large marrow. Can I treat it the same as a marrow? Would like to stuff it with mince and bake it.

joedenise

Definitely stuff it like a marrow if it's big enough.  You can even stuff normal sized courgettes but obviously you'd need more.  I like to slice the marrow into thick rings and stuff the middle with mince and bake.  It cooks quicker so saves some gas/electric so very MSE!