Nici Wickes: Creative uses for excess courgettes

The first courgettes from the garden are cause for a celebration. Not so the marrows that sneak up on you later in the season when you are heartily sick of grilled courgette and the neighbours are getting tired of you offering them as gifts!   

Here’s some surprising and delicious ways you can use them.  

  

Creamy salad or steak sauce 

Makes about ¾ cup   

Ingredients 

1 cup chopped raw courgette  

¼ cup olive oil (or use iced water)   

Handful of basil leaves or parsley or other herb you like   

Decent squeeze of lemon juice or some other acid like vinegar   

Salt & pepper  

Parmesan cheese (optional)   

 

Method 

Blend it all together to a creamy, light green sauce and pour over salads or bbq meats.   

Store in the fridge for up to a week.  

  

  

Fresh fruit ice cream

Freeze chopped courgette and use equal portions of it with a frozen fruit (berries or mango are good) to blend to a smooth gelato-like ice-cream.   

Feel free to add some sugar or other flavourings and/or some liquid (not too much!) like coconut milk or cream / cream / water to help the blender out.   

Best eaten straight away and from a cone.  

  

  

Smoothies

A lot of people load up smoothies with banana from the creaminess, but frozen courgette does the same without the sugar. Magic!   

Somebody also told me that you can make jam with them but I’ve yet to test this theory :)   

 

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