COURGETTES
Courgettes: vital ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine
There are a number of ways to prepare courgettes in Mediterranean cuisine, traditionally combining them with tomatoes: fritters, gratins,... They are one of the main ingredients of ratatouille. Due to the success of "Mediterranean cuisine", its popularity will only increase. Discover Italian-style courgette: with pasta, parmesan, olive oil and balsamic vinegar; or in raw courgette carpaccio.
History
Courgettes are marrows that are harvested when immature. Although they form a separate group of the cucurbit family, they belong to the species of Cucurbita Pepo like patipans, another vegetable that can be harvested when immature.
The courgette is a fairly new vegetable in France (1920's). Today it has come into its own and you can find them in different shapes and colours: the most common are long, cylindrical and green. They are harvested 2 to 4 days after flowering, when they reach a quarter or a third of their full development (17 to 30 cm length); they are mainly hybrids which you can differentiate by their more or less deep colour. The skin on some courgettes is so light that they are sometimes called 'grey' (eg. "Greyzini", an improvement on the hardy "Grisette de Provence"). Others are yellow: they are grown mainly in Spain. The "Ronde de Nice" courgette is getting more widespread on French markets. It's little round fruit are excellent for stuffing.
How to buy Courgettes
Courgettes must be smooth, firm and evenly coloured, a rather dark shiny green. Buy smaller ones, thin and long, they are tastier. The bigger ones are more floury and are ideal for purees and soups.
How to Prepare Courgettes
Courgettes have a subtle flavour and can easily be overshadowed by other ingredients.
On its own: small courgettes chopped into sticks, steamed, and served with a sprinkling of fresh herbs, a little balsamic vinegar and hazelnut oil. The same dressing can be used for raw courgettes.
Two flavours: tomato and raw courgette on a slice of pain de campagne toasted and rubbed with garlic and olive oil; cover in goat cheese slices and grill till golden. Courgette and tarragon quiche. Shoulder of lamb and curried courgettes.
Combination of flavours: Provençal gratin (aubergine, peppers, tomatoes, courgettes) with olives. Courgette, carrot and cucumber tagliatelli with parmesan and roasted hazelnuts. Chinese vegetable stir-fry: bamboo shoots, courgettes, peppers, baby corn, chives, sugar snap peas and sesame seeds.
Courgette ideas
Raw:
- Savoury: chopped into thin slices or sticks, or grated and mixed with other raw fresh veg, served with a mustard, yoghurt and hazelnut oil dressing.
- Sweet: courgette flower fritters are very delicate with a subtle flavour.
Cooked:
- Steamed: sliced, small courgettes need to be steamed 10-12 min. Drizzle with lemon and olive oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Oven-baked: 60 minutes at medium heat as a gratin with gruyere or parmesan cheese, other veg (aubergine or tomatoes), meat if available (diced lamb). Or in a quiche with eggs and herbs.
- Stir-fry: 6-7 minutes with spices and herbs.
Courgette flowers
In the south of France, courgette flowers are eaten stuffed or as fritters. For stuffed flowers, blend minced meat with herbs, spices and a small amount of tomato puree. For flower fritters, dip in batter before deep-frying at 140degC. Serve for dessert, sprinkled with icing sugar. You can also buy courgette fleurs, young courgettes picked before maturity. They need to be blanched and stuffed with meat, seafood or fish.
Courgette soup
Boil courgettes in chicken stock with an onion and herbs and spices. Blend the lot, add olive oil, chilli powder (or yoghurt) and serve cold, just warm, or piping hot. Accompany it with griddled shrimps or crayfish, mussels in saffron or haddock flakes.
Did you know?
Courgettes are the vegetable for slimming diets. High volume and low calories combine to make it a great hunger regulator.
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