[Yorkie]

You can never have too many courgettes in my opinion. After adding them to every meal and giving them away to family and neighbours, we make and freeze a tasty courgette soup or put them in chutney.

I agree, but that does leave you with the dilemma of insufficient freezer space (you'll never have enough) and chutney jars from as far back as 2006 still waiting to be eaten ... and no friends who like it enough to be given newer jars as presents!

I think I need a chutney declutter ...

[sunshineband]

Sounds like it could be just the job in the rainy weather Yorkie 

[Yorkie]

Indeed! 

[Grubbypaws]

Put a little feta cheese and some mint in a long slice, oil and wrap in foil and throw on the BBQ. I so hope that we get some Barbi weather this summer 

[gazza975526570]

Put a little feta cheese and some mint in a long slice, oil and wrap in foil and throw on the BBQ. I so hope that we get some Barbi weather this summer 

have to remember that one - though considering todays weather i may have a while to wait!!!

[Yorkie]

Put a little feta cheese and some mint in a long slice, oil and wrap in foil and throw on the BBQ. I so hope that we get some Barbi weather this summer 

have to remember that one - though considering todays weather i may have a while to wait!!!

You could always use a griddle on the stove top, I suppose.

[Growster...]

Starting them off too early means they get several leaves going, and the central stem gets too long before they're planted out.

Better to wait until end April or early May, so that growth isn't checked. We've made the mistake of starting them too early - did it last year actually!

As for cooking them, Mrs G cuts them into discs and bakes them in a flat dish with garlic and a little onion, and stands flakes of parmesan round the outside rim, rather like edging 'stones'.

Perfick...

[digalotty]

courgette soup is lovely and well worth a go ,    i put some rosemary and some chives in my soup i got the recipe off here somewhere i
when i had my apprentice with me he used to love it

[Mrs Bee]

Put a little feta cheese and some mint in a long slice, oil and wrap in foil and throw on the BBQ. I so hope that we get some Barbi weather this summer 

have to remember that one - though considering todays weather i may have a while to wait!!!

That one sounds lovely Grubbypaws.

We have had several BBQs so far this year. OH often comes and stands over me with the umbrella. Nothing stops us BBQ'ing all year.

Have checked the recipes but my fav one is not there which is courgette, feta and mint fritters.
Sometimes with a little sweetcorn slung in. :happy:

[AnneB]

I am growing 2 varieties this year, Verde di Milano, a good dark green variety that I have grown for several years and it even managed to do quite well in last year's awful weather.  

I am also trying a yellow one this year for the first time, Jemmer.

As for recipes, apart from just frying in a little olive oil and garlic, they are great in ratatouille and vegetable lasagne.  I also do a mean prawn and courgette curry, using a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, which is really quick and very scrumptious.

[JayG]

My favourite and easiest way is to slice them lengthways, smear the cut sides with garlic puree (from a tube - told you it was easy!), a sprinkle of mixed herbs followed by a cheese and breadcrumb topping.
Drizzle with a little oil, and bake until the topping is browned and crunchy. Yum!  :happy:

I'm possibly one of the few people who never half wishes my courgettes would stop producing, because I use them in my home-made tomato sauces which I freeze for winter use.

[angelavdavis]

I usually grow one green courgette plant, one yellow and a couple of the tri-color round variety.  I find the tri-colors seem to store much better then the others and are quite prolific.  Last year, my winter squashes were a bit of a disaster - zero success with my butternut squashes, although I had some success with sweet dumpling last year. 

[angelavdavis]

By the way, I put together a collection of my favourite courgette recipes for the allotment site and you are welcome to download the pdf from here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/607165/Courgette%20Recipe%20Book.pdf

[gazza975526570]

By the way, I put together a collection of my favourite courgette recipes for the allotment site and you are welcome to download the pdf from here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/607165/Courgette%20Recipe%20Book.pdf

Thants a great document - Thank you.

[chile_paul]

I tried growing Romanesco courgettes last year for the first time which were lovely (they are ridged and have a really nice nutty flavour).

Whenever I've tried growing yellow courgettes before I've always found that around half have rotted on the plant (starting from the join between the fruit and the flower). Any ideas why this might be happening and only with some varieties more than others? I'm going to try putting hay underneath the fruit this year to keep them up off the soil to see if this makes a difference.