Courgette hack: From missed marrows to easy zucchinis

I’ve fallen in love with courgettes this season. Thankfully ours are growing well this year since we gave each plant a stake to climb.

Last year we had several plants in our garden, but I feel like I wasted them. I’d regularly forget to go and check for fruit under the huge, spikey zucchini leaves. Then when I did, I usually needed to spend some time cutting off the dying leaves only to uncover marrows, the name given to courgettes that have grown beyond about 10cm. They don’t taste as nice but are still usable.

It’s incredible how quickly they grow from perfect size to oversized. This year I’ve been careful to check our plants every day, and I err on the side of smaller when it comes to picking the fruit. Yes, that’s the second time I’ve referred to these commonly named vegetables as fruit. I had to check it with the plant experts at Kew gardens who clarify:

“Despite the green skin and vegetable-like appearance, courgettes are technically a fruit. This is because they come from a flower, and grow from a golden blossom that blooms from under the leaves.”

We’ve found that adding a stake to tie each plant to as it grows allows much better airflow which has been especially important in the hot, humid weather we’ve had so far this summer. It also means that the fruit don’t lie on the ground but are able to form almost vertically.

Here are some of my favourite ways to use zucchini or courgettes (in Aotearoa New Zealand I’ve grown up hearing both the Italian and French words used interchangeably):

Ribbon salads

Use a peeler to create thin ribbons of raw zucchini. For my riff on a classic Italian salad like to whisk together a quick dressing from olive oil, lemon juice, mānuka honey, salt and pepper before adding the ribbons to soften a bit and soak in the flavour. Then I add chopped fresh herbs like basil, mint or oregano and whatever cheese I have – feta, parmesan or blue cheese are my favourites. Nuts would also be an excellent addition.

Smoothies

I’ve found that adding courgettes to smoothies or protein shakes adds a nice, creamy texture without any vegetal flavour. I’ve been using the seedy centre of the fruit left over from my above ribbon salad in smoothies this summer to get a bonus serve of veggies for me and the kids.

BBQ

I really haven’t found any food that isn’t better when it’s cooked on the BBQ. We’ve been eating outside a lot this summer and it’s a delicious and quick addition to whatever is on the menu. Sliced zucchini, lengthways or in rounds, seasoned with olive oil, salt & pepper, and maybe even smoked paprika and cumin. Delicious!

Fritters

It’s a bit more effort to turn courgettes into fritters but it’s definitely worth it when you have the time. The tricky is to grate the zucchini and season it with salt to draw out the moisture, then squeeze as much of that bright green liquid out of it before adding it to your bowl with other fritter ingredients. I used a tin of whole kernel corn, a shallot and fresh herbs from our garden, a couple of eggs and a bit of flour. Served with bacon, sour cream and sweet chilli sauce so you feel like you went out for lunch, until you remember that no one is coming to do the dishes for you.

How do you use zucchini, courgettes or whatever you call them?