Monday, August 17, 2015

The one that got away

Somehow I didn't notice these two zucchini until it was too late. They were hiding under some big leaves. Talk about laughing out loud. I don't know what we'll do with them. Maybe cut them up and stuff them, if we can make enough stuffing.

That's a standard sized Champagne bottle for comparison (but it's our local sparkling wine, not actual Champagne).

Our weather was very nice on Sunday and we enjoyed a lunch out by the river with some friends in a restaurant we hadn't been to before. Ken is posting about it today, so click on over to his blog to have a look.

17 comments:

  1. A courgette is but a baby marrow!!
    You've got a good pair of marrows there!!

    Two ideas for you...
    With the bigger one...

    Cut off the top where it becomes straight...
    cut off the end...
    that will leave you with a straight column.
    Cut that into four, equal-sized rings...
    de-seed and discard the seed.
    Place the rings in an oiled baking dish and stuff them with some "chair"...
    bought or homemade.
    You can give each one a lid using half a tomato... or top with a slice of goats' cheese.
    Bake until the filling is done and the courgette is tender... test with knife.

    Chop up the remaining flesh, once de-seeded and....
    I would recommend from past experience, peeled!
    Chop up an onion and a couple of tomatoes...
    steam all these and stir/fold into some freshly cooked rice...
    whilst hot.... season to taste.
    That stage takes about as long as the marrow rings take...
    else keep warm until rings are done...
    serve along side rings.
    One advantage of courgettes used as marrow for this dish is that they ain't as watery...
    and IMO... have better flavour.

    That's the big "marrow" sorted...
    turn the other one into courgette and ginger jam...
    look up recipes for marrow and ginger jam ont'Interweb!
    Again, the firmness of the courgette vs a real marrow wins out...
    the chunks take on the ginger flavour...
    but remain much more gingery in texture!
    T

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NB: these are both British staples...
      I learnt them from my Gran!

      Delete
    2. Tim, I think these are the kind of stuffed squash rings you are talking about. It's a post of mine from 2013.

      Delete
    3. Almost exactly the same...
      they look to have nicer flesh than a marrow, too...
      the only real difference is my Gran's... and therefore my... stuffing is entirely meat...
      in the UK it would be mince... or sausage meat... and I have used minced cooked lamb and lamb's liver...
      the steamed veg method for the rice allows the juices from the meat to be poured over the rice dish...
      no couscous to soak it up!
      We are using the same method to cook Iceball courgettes tonight....
      and pasta can be substituted for the rice...
      both dishes work well cold....
      slice the stuffed marrow/courgette/squash into three rings and arrange round edge of plate...
      dress the pasta/rice dish with a dressing of your choice and place in centre...
      I find that a yoghurt based dressing works very well.

      Delete
  2. I'd recommend what we had for dinner last night. :)

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/07/taco-stuffed-zucchini-boats.html

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  3. Slice, brush with olive oil, and toss on the grill

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  4. Before I read the text, I was hoping you had harvested all three from your garden. Way back when, I used to make zuchanoes (zoo-canoes) by cutting the zuch in half, hollowing it out, filling it back in with onions, tomatoes, cheese, ground beef, etc and baking.

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  5. I expect seeing zucchini like those in one of your weekly horror movies on TV!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The attack of the Giant Zucchini"....
      starring Ronald Reagan?

      Delete
  6. Walt

    A recipe that you may like for the zukes :

    http://traceysculinaryadventures.com/2012/05/crispy-baked-zucchini-fries-with-sriracha-lime-mayo.html

    I do use bread crumbs in lieu of panko since Y does not like panko.

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  7. Personally I always loathed stuffed marrow. When they get to that size they are merely the object of comedy:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdGKLA8IlEE

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  8. This is the drawback of growing 'zukes" you turn your back for a minute and they become zeppelins, and quite not inedible. happily they put out more in more time.

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  9. tim, we've done something similar, as Ken mentioned.

    ksam, that looks really good. Now to the market for turkey... :)

    jaqueline, we've done a lot of that this year!

    judy, and almost as big!

    stuart, if I could harvest those bottles (filled, of course), I'd be a very happy gardener!

    evelyn, The Zucchini that Ate Cleveland.

    t.b., another good idea! Thanks!

    autolycus, lol. A little double entendre, perhaps? ;)

    michael, they sure do. On both counts.

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  10. Or, you could follow the old American tradition of sneaking up to a neighbor's house and leaving the zucchini on the front porch.

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  11. Our favorite recipe for escaped zuchs: http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/europe/greek/stuffed-zucchini1.html
    I just cut them in half, scrape out the seeds, and stuff the "boats."

    ReplyDelete

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