[mumofstig]

No because it doesn't spoil it 

[Beetroot queen]

106 and still going strong, someone save me 

[ally]

Planted mine in pots this year . . .no where near as good as 2 years ago (last year was rubbish) . . . Lost one due to wind. Hoping the last 2 will see me through . . . Main staple of my diet

[barley]

sob sob 

I haven't had any courgettes this year  as they all died due to awful spring conditions 

cucumbers !!!!! full of flower and leaf but 1 ( yes 1 !!!!! ) fruit so far

but I have 3 spaghetti marrows forming so life is still good 

[Mr Dog]

Courgette and Dolcellate Soup snip

Can I just say that it's delicious without the cheese or cream too!

Nigel Slater's very simple courgette recipe is a good one for a quick lunch:

Thinly slice courgette lengthways with a potato peeler
Lightly fry in olive oil - don't brown
Add teaspoon of pesto and stir
Serve and enjoy.

[digalotty]

i have 5 plants ,  3 yellow and two green  or is it 2 yellow and 3 green lol

[compostqueen]

Speaking of Nigel, he does a mean courgette crumble. I dug out my recipe yesterday and there's a great big burn hole in it 

Yellow courgettes are the bees knees at our house.  I use them for the "carrot" cake and for the buns and muffins etc as kids/husbands are more likely to eat something which is not green (which they suspect could be made from courgette) 

[oldcow]

I'm getting a good crop too! Most of mine goes into courgette pasta.
Fry some thinly sliced onion in a some olive oil until it starts to wilt. Add the sliced courgettes, salt and pepper, and let it cook over high heat until softened and coloured. Add a few slices of pancetta cut into strips and some courgette flowers strips (wash, use only the petals) and cook for another couple of minutes until the pancetta is cooked. Add some chopped fresh basil and some grated parmesan cheese and toss with the cooked pasta. Best eaten with short pasta like penne or rigatoni!
If you're only getting male flowers, remember you can eat courgette flowers fritters. Make a fairly thin batter with egg, water, milk and flour and salt, dip the clean flowers in it (again, remove the bottom and pistil so you only have the petal part) and deep fry in groundnut oil. They're really delicious!

[compostqueen]

Yes they are and I think folks are missing a trick if they're not trying these things

Here's today offering.  I tried a piece and I defy anyone not to love this. It's the Riverford Organics one. 

[pigguns]

That looks the business CQ.  I hid a (large) patty pan in some parmesan courgette bread with our salmon pasta last night- 'what's the yellow stuff' the kids said suspiciously, they didn't buy the 'parmesan' line- see they're cottoning on  .... 18 year old is reusing to hide any in her brownies she's making right now- not even a small beetroot 

[mumofstig]

Speaking of Nigel, he does a mean courgette crumble. I dug out my recipe yesterday and there's a great big burn hole in it 

The recipe is here 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=108625.msg1222058#msg1222058

[BobE]

That looks the business CQ.  I hid a (large) patty pan in some parmesan courgette bread with our salmon pasta last night- 'what's the yellow stuff' the kids said suspiciously, they didn't buy the 'parmesan' line- see they're cottoning on  .... 18 year old is reusing to hide any in her brownies she's making right now- not even a small beetroot 

It gets worse, my 18 year old now adds her own food to the order.  (I'm 18 now so I can do as I like.  )

[pink aubergine]

One of my allotment neighbours who has 2x 10 pole plots and grows a double row of courgettes, he picks the fruits young , and then when the plants are bigger and producing lots he cuts out every other plant and puts on compost heap! Gives each plant more room and saves the glut problem, even though he and his wife make courgette cake, soup, etc ...... And he has 4 freezers for preserving his allotment produce!

[devonbarmygardener]

And to think I thought 1 chest freezer would be enough!
That's a lot of courgette!
I always aim to pick them small and courgette sized...

[goodtogrow]

RJR, I've found that the yellow ones are less vigourous, and less productive, which, perversely, is a Good Thing if we want to avoid a glut of courgettes.

And yes, the taste is more subtle, so shallow-fried in olive oil they'll go with anything.  And they're pretty, prettier, prettiest.

Tom