I love zucchinis they are so versatile and if you are growing them don’t just stick to the standard dark green, look out for the exiting varieties!
Yellow, grey, gold, light green, white and striped, there are even grow ones that are perfect little golf balls!
Zucchini (called courgettes in France and Britain) are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and they just keep on producing throughout spring, summer and even early autumn.
They adapt to all sorts of cooking – grilled, stir-fried, blanched, grated into fritters, added to favourite pasta sauces stuffed and roasted and eaten raw when they are very young.
Zucchini, Feta and Mint Fritters
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchinis grated
- 1 lemon, rind grated and juiced
- 2 tbsp chopped spring onion
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
- 150 gm crumbled feta cheese
- 1.5 cups SR flour
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 cup soda water (makes it lighter)
Method
Squeeze out as much moisture from the zucchinis.
Mix flour, eggs and water to make a smooth batter.
Stir in feta, herbs, lemon rind and juice and zucchini.
Heat a heavy fry pan over medium heat and lightly coat with oil.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the pan and cook until bubbles form, then turn over.
Best served as canapés with sour cream and smoked salmon.
How To Grow Zucchinis
Once a zucchini plant is up and running you need to harvest the crop every few days.
With the daily rain we have been getting on the mountain in the past 2 months, in the blink of an eye those tender, fingerling babies turn into fat, insipid marrows. Anything over 10 cm long will be spongy, and cotton woolly.
Keep plants well watered throughout the growing season and when it does rain watch out for a growing spurt! The only problem with the rain is that it has kept the bees away so production slows down until the sun comes out and the bees return to pollinate.
Zucchinis have an unpopular reputation as being bland and soggy; most people would rather eat other green vegetables like broccoli or beans.
I think that is because of the way they are cooked, they cannot be steamed or boiled like other greens, they are best grilled, sautéed or barbequed. Use lots of herbs - they go well with mint, dill, garlic chilli, parsley, rosemary, tomatoes, anchovies, actually they go with EVERYTHING, so what’s stopping us don’t hold back start getting adventurous.
Uses For The Zucchini
While the zucchini fruit is popular, few people know what to do with the bright yellow edible flowers. In Italy they are stuffed with a mixture of ricotta, garlic, Parmesan and sometimes capers, then steamed or deep-fried.
However, they can also be stuffed with many other delicious fillings, including cream cheese and chopped sun-dried tomatoes or cooked chicken mince seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper.
To stuff zucchini flowers carefully prise open the petals and fill the cavity inside. The stuffed flowers can be dipped in batter and shallow-fried. They make great starters.
Fried Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
Below is a batter recipe that I use to coat my stuffed zucchini flowers.
- Stir 3 tbsp olive oil into a cup of flour with a pinch of salt.
- Add 150ml tepid water and stir until smooth and creamy, adding more water if needed.
- Add some lemon zest or torn basil or parsley leaves as desired. Stand for at least 2 hours.
- Just before using, gently fold in 1 stiffly beaten egg white. Dunk flowers into batter to lightly coat and shallow-fry in a small pan in about 1cm oil, turning as they brown.
- Drain on paper towels and serve hot.