Courgette Trial 2008

The courgette is also called "zucchini" in American and Australian English. Whilst cooked as a vegetable, it is actually the young fruit of the female zucchini flower. The plant is easy to grow, and if the fruit are picked young, it will continue to produce for many weeks. Its culinary use is diverse, as many gardeners with a glut will agree!

Courgette Bianco di Trieste

This year, we grew the Italian variety Bianco di Trieste . Its pale lime green skin is attractive in the vegetable plot as well as on the plate! The plant was easy to grow and we quickly saw a difference in the size and strength of the young seedlings when compared to UK varieties. It produced lots of fruit from mid July.

We found that the taste was quite mild and so could be used for many recipes. Here are a few ideas:

Raw in Salads: Slice very finely, raw in salads (twisted slices make a great garnish).

Stuffed and Baked: Cut in half lengthways and remove the majority of the central flesh (leave enough flesh with the skin so that it does not collapse). Mix the flesh with chopped and fried onions, mushrooms and peppers. Add diced cheese (mozzarella or halloumi are both great) and season well. Spoon the mixture into the courgette cavities and bake for 45 minutes.

Baked with Tomatoes: Slice the courgettes finely and layer alternatively in a baking dish with tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese as many times as will fit the dish! Add tinned chopped tomatoes, grated cheese to the top and season well. Bake for 45 minutes.