courgette fritters

Green with envy?

'What a lovely big box of green goodness you have!'
'All the better to cook with my dear'

This was delivered to the door by some very kind neighbours...

              ...my mother also has some courgettes in the garden.

                       ...ever wondered what a courgette looks like growing?

Is it a snake? Don't be shy...reveal yourself

Peek a boo.

Wowza

Oooh, Hello There Sailor! Hmmm, the picture is rather self explanatory. There isn't much that I can add except to leave it open for your own pun insert! This one was particularly impressive, and was particularly ripe for the picking, as you can see by its 'grotesque' size. Turn your back for a day, and courgettes will grow out of control, so you have to keep a keen and watchful eye over them.

Do you like courgettes?

More importantly do you know what you can do with courgettes?

I do.

The Italians know how to use courgettes. A lot of us English assume this vegetable boring. I used to slice them into fat pound coin sizes and just pop them on a baking tray with oil, salt and pepper. After 30'ish mins (with flipping), they attained a sort of marmite covering. Now, however, I like to be a little more cosmopolitan.

...courgette fritters.

I've already covered sweetcorn fritters. I can't get enough of fritters. I just LOVE fritters.

Get grating! (use a grater if you haven't got a magimix - NEVER SAY NEVER)

This is a recipe from Jojo Tulloh's cookbook:

• 4 small or 2 medium courgettes (about 350g)
• 1tbsp plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp finely chopped herbs (mint and chives or thyme)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, peeled and shredded
• salt and pepper

Grate the courgettes coarsely, salt and leave them to drain in a colander.

Let the water drain out of the courgette

Take a clean tea towel and place the courgette pulp in the middle. Wring the tea towel to squeeze out excess water.

A few simple ingredients

Put the flour in a bowl and add the beaten eggs, herbs, lemon zest, garlic, spring onions and courgettes (we didn't have any spring onions so we improvised with cumin).

Heat a large frying pan with a couple of tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, take a heaped tablespoon of mixture and drop it into the pan, flattening it out slightly with the back of the spoon. Make sure the side is browned before flipping over.

Don't flip before the bottom is brown!

Once cooked, drain the fritters on a paper toweled plate or oven tray.

Ready to be wolfed down

Serve with mixed leaves or whatever you have (we had green beans and a fresh tomato sliced). Make a little tzatziki to have with or serve with chilli jam.

Eat!

They are good for breakfast too!