Lots of courgettes! Lots of fun!

It’s summer (yes, an English summer, but summer non the less) and we are enjoying our neighbour’s glut of courgettes. Almost every day we get 5 or more beautiful fresh courgettes.

And so, I find myself making everything (SCD bread, SCD muffins, salads, roasted veg) with courgettes. But sometimes I’m stuck for inspiration.

The food channel is our guilty pleasure. We watch programmes about fatty, bready american diner food, beautiful baked cakes and dessert full of sugar and flour and many other foods we just don’t/won’t eat, but love to watch. One afternoon a recipe for courgette fritters caught my eye. It was, of course, made with breadcrumbs and feta cheese; and the fritters were deep fried, which is something I try not to do. But, it inspired me to experiment with making my own fritters, made the SCD way and baked/grilled, rather than fried.

SCD Courgette Fritters

With a herby dipping sauce

Serves 4 as a meal or make them smaller for party finger foods

Ingredients:
2-3 Courgettes (depends on the size of the courgette)
200g Roasted Butternut Squash (optional, if not using, up the ground almond quantity)
100g Ground Almonds
50g hard cheese, such as Manchego, Parmesan or Pecorino, thickly grated
1-2 Eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 200˚c. Line a large baking sheet with aluminium foil, then spread a thin layer of olive oil on it using a brush.
2. Grate the courgettes on the thick grater (I used the food processor grating blade to save time)
3. Squeeze the water out of the grated courgette, using the palms of your hands or twisting in a tea towel.
4. In a large bowl, combine the roasted squash, ground almonds, 1 egg and seasoning to a thick paste. If the mixture is too thick, add the second egg.
5. Add the grated cheese and squeezed courgettes and mix well until all the ingredients are well combined.
6. Using your hands, shape patties and place them on the baking sheet, then drizzle a few drops of olive oil on top of each patty.
7. Bake in the oven for 10min, then switch your oven to ‘grill’, move the tray to the highest level in the oven and grill the top of the fritters so they colour nicely on top for about 3-5min.
8.  Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before serving (this will make removing them from the tray easier).

2tbsp Herb Dipping Sauce:

Chop 2tbsp each of Parsley and Dill (or any other herb combo you like) into a bowl, mix in 2tbs SCD yogurt, 2tbsp home made mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste.

Increase the quantities according to the amount of servings.

Serve the Fritters with the sauce and a green salad.

Enjoy!

Picnic under the oak tree

It’s been a year since my now husband J popped the question. A whole year has passed, since one of the happiest days of my life and a start of this great journey we are taking together.

A few good months into our engagement, in the midst of our wedding perp, on a sunny day in March, our photographer Blake Ezra came over to our house (which was also the wedding venue) to take some pre-shoot photos of us and the of the venue. I’d highly recommend doing this, as it get’s you used to having someone with a camera following you around and also gets you great professional photos that aren’t in a white dress and all dressed up.

We took Blake for a lovely walk in the woods, past the spot where we got engaged, and had some fun re-enacting the moment.

So a year later, we thought it would be fun to go back to that beautiful spot where we got engaged  and have a nice afternoon picnic (all SCD friendly of course).

An SCD friendly Picnic

The picnic included: Roasted veg with Tahini, Beetroot Carpaccio with Manchego, a green salad, SCD bread (coming soon, an improved recipe) and carrot and courgette cupcakes for dessert.

Quantities for the recipes depend on how many people you are serving. Also, use any veg you like and are available to you.

Roasted Vegetables with Tahini (served cold):

Ingredients:
Courgettes
Cauliflower
Sweet Peppers (I used mini sweet peppers but use any red/yellow/orange you can find)
Garlic, chopped
Olive Oil
Oregano or Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Line a baking sheet (or two) with aluminium foil and heat your oven to 190˚c.
2. Slice the vegetables into a large mixing bowl (you can mix them together, but if you are using beetroot, make sure you dress it separately so you don’t stain all your veg)
3. Add the garlic, a good glugg of olive oil, herbs and seasoning and toss the veg until they are well coated in the oil and herbs.
4. Arrange the veg on the baking sheet (I like to arrange them neatly but you also tip the contents of your bowl and scatter the veg).
5. Roast in the oven for aprox 40min, or until nicely golden on top with slightly charred edges, then remove from the oven, let cool and enjoy with a dollop of tahini dressing (equal parts of Tahini paste and water, garlic and salt to taste, chopped parsley and lemon juice. Mix together to a runny consistency, adding more water and seasoning if needed).

Beetroot Carpaccio with Manchego 

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
2 Fresh Beets, washed and peeled (I only had red beets, but by all means, use a variety of colours if you can)
2tbs Olive Oil
Juice of half a lemon
1 sprig Mint
Salt and pepper to taste
Manchego, Parmesan or even Blue cheese

Method:

1. If you have a mandolin, use it to slice the beets on thickness 1. If no, slice the beets very thinly with a very sharp knife.
2. Place the sliced beets in a bowl (or even in the box you will be taking them to the picnic in), add the rest of the ingredients and mix very well, making sure all the beet ‘pages’ are smothered in the dressing.
3. Leave in the fridge until ready to use.
4. Wash the mandolin from the beetroot juices and slice the Manchego on the same setting. Keep the cheese separate from the beets and at the picnic. combine them on the plate or on a sandwich.

Note: On another occasion I served the beetroot carpaccio as an accompaniment to lemon and dill Salmon Gravad Lax with a herby pesto dressing and no mint. Yum!

Enjoy!