SAVOUR & SIP
Don’t you, ELISHA EATS GROWING YOUR OWN VEGETABLES CAN QUICKLY SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL. BUT DON’T WORRY, ELISHA YOUNG (AKA @ELISHA.EATS ON INSTAGRAM) HAS PLENTY OF WAYS YOU CAN ENJOY THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOUR THIS AUGUST courgette about me
here is no vegetable more dangerous than the courgette. It starts out innocently enough: you want to cultivate your own food
and know courgettes are versatile, tasty and easy to grow. But things soon start to get out of hand. The plant has fruited so abundantly that you find yourself trying to palm them off on to passers-by, simply to avoid drowning in them. Every year, without fail, I find myself experiencing this predicament as the vegetable garden bursts into life. My family ends up eating courgettes in increasingly obscure ways, just to try and stop them from growing into large, bitter marrows. If you’ve found yourself in the same situation this summer, I have a few gastronomic suggestions to inspire. You can’t go wrong with the classics: pan-frying in butter, roasting with olive oil and sea salt, blending into a soup with garlic and rosemary, or serving alongside pasta. Courgettes can also be baked into bread, combined with ricotta to make a ravioli filling, charred on the grill and turned into a delicious dip for bread, spiralised to make noodles, used in curries or added to savoury muffins. For desperate situations, you can also pickle your courgettes, transform into a tasty pesto, put into a galette, or even use them to make a surprisingly tasty loaf cake (which pairs beautifully with elderflower cream cheese frosting, if you have any cordial lying around). But in my opinion, the best use for excess cucurbits is courgette fritters. They’re simple, speedy and easy to personalise. To serve one person, use one medium courgette (grated, salted and squeezed to remove excess water), combined with one large egg, 3 tbsp of
FRY IT REAL GOOD These versatile fritters are great served with a salad
© ELISHA YOUNG
attached, which can be stuffed with goat’s cheese and deep-fried in a tempura batter. Still, I wouldn’t blame you for being tempted into a local culinary establishment to try some of the excellent dishes available. The Ivy Cambridge Brasserie offers up a fun twist on humble fries with zucchini fritti, which are courgette chips served with a flavourful lemon, chilli and mint yoghurt. In a similar vein, Parker’s Tavern serves its tempura courgette alongside honey, cider and black pepper, and Kota pairs roast courgette with preserved lemon and confit shallot. Or treat yourself to the Ortolana pizza at Tradizioni, combining courgette with aubergine and broccoli. However you decide to eat your courgettes – whether in a salad, soup or deep-fried batter – their subtle, delicate flavour is one to be relished. Embrace the abundance of the season and get inventive. Now, who wants to try some of my chocolate and courgette cupcakes?
plain flour, a little baking powder, a good amount of seasoning and any herbs you fancy. The amount of oil you use to pan-fry depends on how health-conscious you’re feeling, but more of it results in a crispier, crunchier exterior. The fritters are delicious served hot from the pan with a tangy dollop of crème fraiche, runny fried egg or salad. Of course, it’s also possible you’ve sensibly avoided cultivating your own courgettes and simply want to enjoy the taste of a fresh, seasonal vegetable. In this scenario, the produce from a greengrocer or market stall is definitely your best bet. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to pick up baby courgettes with the flowers still
You can’t go wrong with the classics: pan-frying, roasting or blending
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK AUGUST 2022 53
Powered by FlippingBook