Recipe: Chargrilled Courgette, Pea, and Ricotta Tagliatelli

This is such a divine recipe- the earthy flavours of the courgette mixing with the fresh zesty flavours of lemon and ricotta. I got this ricotta from the new Jamie's Deli that's opened up in town, the place is STUNNING- It's like a proper decent Italian deli, just with a few Jamie Oliver branded things scattered about. Theres meats hanging from the ceilings, big wheels of cheese, crates of unusual vegetables outside, and a fab deli counter. However, i had my sneaky eye on the ricotta they were selling, as i could tell it was THE REAL DEAL rather than the watery tasteless ricotta you get from supermarkets. This ricotta, sourced from Westcombe which is only a couple of miles from where I live, is so delicious and creamy and lovely- i'm hooked! This recipe takes 15 minutes to make and is very good for you- it includes at least 2 of your 5 a day in there! You can either use chargrilled courgettes that you get in a packet from the supermarket, or you could make your own by just chucking some courgettes on a griddle pan for a couple of minutes each side.

Chargrilled courgette, pea, and ricotta Tagliatelli (serves 1)

100g dried Tagliatelli
80g frozen peas
80g diced chargrilled courgettes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of half a lemon
Plenty of salt and pepper to taste
30g fresh ricotta

1. Cook the Tagliatelli according to the packet instructions. 2 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the frozen peas to the pan.
2. Drain the peas and pasta, and return to the pan. Mix in the courgettes, olive oil, lemon and seasoning. Top with the fresh ricotta and serve!

Recipe: Jamie Oliver's Courgette and Boccocini Salad

This is a lovely little salad recipe that Nick made me last week, after we'd both seen Jamie Oliver make it on his "30 Minute Meals" program. Very simple and very refreshing I thought, and tasty too. We made half the amount Jamie made on his show, as it was to serve four- but other than that we followed the recipe to the letter. I will definitely be making this again, it is delicious, however i think that the salad would be nicer with some creamy goats cheese or some feta instead of the boccocini (mini mozzarella balls- sometimes called Mozzarella pearls in supermarkets) as I didn't think they actually added much to the dish. Nick actually took the picture of this dish with his iphone, they've got such fantastic cameras on them havent they??

Courgette and Mozzarella Salad (serves 2 as a side dish)

1 yellow courgette, peeled thinly into strips (discarding the middle bit)
1 green courgette, peeled thinly into strips (discarding the midd bit)
1 red chilli, very finely chopped
1 squeeze fresh lemon
Handful fresh mint, very finely chopped
salt and pepper
10 Boccocini

1. Mix all the ingredients together (except the boccocini) and season to taste. Lay the courgettes onto a platter and top with the boccocini- serve!

Recipe: Chicken and Green Vegetable Fricassee

This is a little dish i whipped up last night with my last harvest of courgettes. It's a shame theyve ended again, but i got almost more out of these two plants this year than the three plants last year (8kg vs 10kg). *Sigh* the raised beds are looking a bit bare, now that we've cut down the courgettes and the french beans- but at least we still have some leeks to harvest- watch this space!!! This slightly french dish is delicious served with a big chunk of buttered french baguette.

Chicken and Green Vegetable Fricassee (serves 2)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
350g diced chicken
100ml white wine
350ml chicken stock
1 bay leaf
250g quartered new potatoes
200g diced courgettes
100g Philadelphia
200g frozen peas
Salt and pepper

1. In a saucepan on a medium heat, fry the red onions in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the chicken with a little seasoning (salt + pepper) and fry for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add the white wine, stock, bay leaf, and new potatoes, and cook covered for 10 minutes.
3. Add the Philadelphia and courgettes, and cook uncovered for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the peas, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve!

Recipe: Spicy Courgette and Tomato Chutney

Bit of a glut of courgettes again this year- not as many as last year, due to the fact that slugs got one of the three courgette plants very early on, but the other two are producing fairly well. I thought i'd have a go at preserving courgettes this year, since i didn't have a go last year. Courgette chutneys/pickles arent the most common of preserves, you don't really see them much in the shops, but this is rather delicious actually. Courgettes, tomatoes and chilli work very well as a flavour combination, and i think these will make good christmas presents, because it looks rather a nice colour in the jars. Oh yeah, you don't have to add the apple in 15 minutes later if you don't want to, you can add it at the beginning with the rest of the ingredients- it's just I had to because my pan wasn't big enough!

Spicy Courgette and Tomato Chutney (makes about 2.5kg)

1kg finely diced courgettes
1kg finely diced cherry tomatoes
3 large white onions, finely diced
4 apples, peeled and finely diced
340ml red wine vinegar
260ml cider vinegar
500g sugar
25g mustard seeds
3 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp crushed chilli flakes
1 tsp crushed ginger
8 garlic cloves, crushed

1. Put all the ingredients into a very large saucepan, except the apples, and boil for 15 minutes. Add the apples and simmer for a further 2 hours and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Allow to settle for 10 minutes, and pot.

Recipe: Spinach and Courgette Lasagne

A wonderful creation made from my veg box offerings! A healthier twist on lasagne- full of vegetables, and (despite having a fair amount of cheese on the top!) it doesn't use a bechamel sauce, so the calorie count is lowered just that little bit! Serve this with a mixed salad, and enjoy on one of these lovely hot summer days! (Even i'm getting a bit of a tan, and I usually look like Dracula's long lost sister!)

Courgette and Spinach Lasagne (serves 6)

Lasagne + filling
Around 12 sheets of dried lasagne
2 tbsp olive oil
½ white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves
450g finely diced courgettes
200g chopped true spinach (or baby spinach)
260g cottage cheese
Salt and pepper
125g grated cheddar

Tomato Sauce
400ml tomato passata
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp sugar
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Put the lasagne sheets in boiling water and boil for 6 minutes. Drain, pour a little oil on top (to stop them sticking) and set aside.
2. In a large frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the diced courgettes and cook for a further five minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes, until wilted and well mixed with the other ingredients.
3. Take the vegetables off the heat, mix with cottage cheese, season to taste and set aside. Preheat the fan oven to 180C (or normal oven to 200C).
4. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat up all the sauce ingredients in a pan for 5 minutes, season to taste and set aside.
5. Layer the courgette mixture first, then a few pasta sheets, then tomato sauce. Repeat the process (ending with the tomato sauce), top with grated cheddar, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and slice into portions. Serve!

Recipe: Lamb and Courgette kebabs, with Red onion and Walnut Couscous

Well I told you i'd be writing up less recipes up on here- and I was dead right! I told the guys at Cosy Club that I was happy to do anything from 15-40 hours (see- nice and flexible!), and this week i've done over 45, and i'm pretty sure i might be doing the same next week. I mean, i am very much thinking about all the money at this point, which is why i am battling with myself whether i should moan about it really. On one hand the more money= the better, and even on 30 hours a week i'll have more than enough, but on the other hand....its LOTS OF MONEYYYYY. But yeah this is killing me man, full-time chef-ing again. I don't know when my next full day off is- last one was last friday and there aint a free in sight yet.....

Anyway only a few months more Mel, stick with it! Last time I had an evening free to myself, I cooked this dish for me and my boyfriend and we both loved it- very tasty and barely takes any time to prepare. The marinade for the lamb can also be used with bigger cuts of lamb to be slowcooked too- the flavours work particularly well with this type of meat. It isnt in the recipe, but I served this with a herby yoghurt- nom!

Lamb, courgette and red onion kebabs, with zesty cous cous

For the Kebabs
250g lamb leg steaks, cut into bitesize chunks
1 lemon (zest set aside for the couscous, ½ juiced for the marinade)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tsp dried mint
1.5 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp paprika
Seasoning
1 medium sized courgette, sliced

For the Cous cous

2 tbsp olive oil
½ red onion, sliced
2 clove garlic
1 tsp sugar
40g walnuts, chopped
130g couscous
200ml hot vegetable stock
Handful coriander stems and leaves chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra coriander for garnish

1. Place the lamb in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil, mint, rosemary, paprika and seasoning. Mix together, and leave in the fridge to marinade for at least 2 hours. Soak 4 wooden skewers in water for at least 15 minutes.
2. Heat up a fan oven to 220C. Thread the marinated lamb and courgette onto the four skewers. Put onto Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, turning once.
3. Meanwhile, put the couscous, lemon zest, walnuts, and coriander into a bowl. Add the vegetable stock and cover for about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile in a saucepan fry the onion, garlic and sugar in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Mix into the couscous, fluff up with a fork and season to taste.
5. Remove the skewers from the oven, pour over any juices leftover in the tray and serve with the cous cous and some more fresh chopped coriander.

Recipe: Vegetable and Chickpea Cous Cous

What a feast! This is a perfect side/ salad dish to make for a big gathering, like a barbeque or coctail party- because it is delicious, filling, and suitable for the vegetarians as well! It's absolutely scrumptious, and freezes very well too. I've used a red pepper here instead of the yellow pepper. Any colour will do, no worries!

Vegetable and Chickpea Couscous (serves 6 as a main, or 10 as a side dish)

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 courgette, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
3 chestnut mushrooms, diced
700ml (using 3 vegetable oxo cubes) vegetable stock
300g couscous
1 tsp paprika (plus extra for sprinkling)
2 cardamom pods, crushed in a mortar and pestle
Small handful fresh coriander chopped
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
½ tsp salt

*for garnish*
15g finely grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika
30g Toasted almond flakes

1. Cook onion and courgette, covered, on a medium heat, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pepper and mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes, covered.
2. Add paprika, cardamom, salt, and coriander, chickpeas and tomato, and cook it for a couple of minutes. Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
3. Once brought up to the boil add couscous. Cover immediately and take off the heat. Leave for six minutes then fluff up with a fork. Place into a serving dish, sprinkle over the parmesan, almonds and paprika, and serve!

Recipe: Briam

"Briam" (Bree-Am) is a delicious traditional Greek potato and vegetable bake. I had this dish loads of times when i went to Crete a few years ago, and completely fell in love with it. It's the simplicity of Greek food that i adore so much. I got a traditional Cretan cookery book, and most of the recipes have a few ingredients, cooked simply, and all of which usually(even the desserts) contain lashing of good olive oil! Traditionally you would crumble a type of mild goat's cheese called "Mizithra" over the top once it's come out of the oven, but I can't find it anywhere in England, so I use Feta, which seems to me to be the closest alternative to it.

Briam (serves 4)

550g courgettes, halved and sliced
550g potatoes, peeled and sliced fairly thinly
4 large ripe tomatoes, 2 squished up, 2 sliced into wedges
1 red onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp dried oregano
200ml vegetable stock
60ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
50g feta cheese, crumbled

1. Heat to 180C. Mix all the ingredients together well in a large bowl. Pour the mixture into a large baking/roasting dish, and smooth over as much as possible.
2. Put into the oven for 55 minutes. Every 15 minutes with a spoon, “pat down” the vegetables as much as possible. This is to make sure the potato cooks. You should not stir the mixture; otherwise it will break down too much.
3. Once the potato is cooked, and the dish looks well roasted, take out of the oven and crumble over the feta cheese and some extra chopped fresh parsley. Serve!