A mammoth harvest

[jenny_haddow]

.....of courgettes resulted in a tasty supper dish last night.

Blind bake a shortcrust flan case.

Thinly slice about 5-6 courgettes and gently fry in some olive oil until softened and starting to brown. Add 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic, a tablespoon or two of chopped capers or olives and the zest of a lemon, cook for a minute or so then put aside to cool.

Beat three eggs and a small tub of natural yoghurt in a bowl. To this I added the remnants of some goats cheese I made and some chopped parsley - coriander or dill would work too. Salt and pepper.

Spoon the courgettes into the pastry case, pour over the egg/cheese mixture and bake at 180c/gas 4 for about 20 minutes until set.

Great with a dish of fresh peas(also a glut from the garden) and new potatoes.

Enjoy

Jen

[Fallow Buck]

Jenny,

I'm really enjoying this time of year. I cut my first bertollis last week and they were great. I cut them a bbit small so tonight I'll get some of the better grown ones for tea.

The caulli's were a mixed succes but I really miss the courgettes!! Straight off of the plant fried inolive oil with a fresh egg or two broken in and turned over is just gorgeous!!

How many plants do you have? some can be very prolific apparently.

Rgds,
FB

[jenny_haddow]

Hi FB

Great time of year, just love going out and foraging in the garden.

I've got six courgette plants that have gone absolutely mad, and the greenhouse is full of cucumbers, aubergine, peppers and tomatoes. I'd forgotten how good the soil is in East Anglia, it puts veg growing into a different league.

Went for a walk off the beaten track on Sunday and have noted down the location of sloes and damsons for later use, but came back with a bag full (always go out with a scrumping bag in your pocket) of young walnuts which are now pickling.

So much provender and not enough time!

[Wohoki]

I have my eye on a walnut tree down the road. Pickled walnuts are great. Ever tried chopping a few and adding them to a steak and kidney pie? Lovely.

[jenny_haddow]

Wohoki, that sounds like a scrumptious idea. I made a S&K pie once that called for the inclusion of pickled silver skin onions and that was very good.

Jen

[Wohoki]

Add some of the vinegar as well. Vinegar is highly under-rated as a cooking ingredient in the UK, it adds real depth to any sauce. (And a pox upon balsamic vinegar, just use wine, sherry or cider vinegar. Balsamic is a dressing.)

[jenny_haddow]

Vinegar was used a lot in cooked dishes in Brazil. Portuguese influence, as in Goa and vindaloo (wine and garlic, but often vinegar and garlic). It certainly braces up the taste buds, my Brazilian husband used to marinade his steaks in vinegar and oil before cooking, and he liked it with bacon too.

[Wohoki]

I wouldn't marinade with vinegar, as it toughens the outside of the meat, but adding some to the pan to de-glaze and following it with butter to make a sauce is grand. The Goan thing is quite right (I don't know if you've ever tasted Goan red wine, but calling it vinegar is a compliment ).

[Fallow Buck]

I use Balsamig as a marinade on venison sirloins or whole beef fillets.

Mix Balsamic and olive oil in equal quantities and for each half cup of the mix put in two to three tsp's of garlic salt. I then cover the meat and wrap in clingfilm. put it in the fridge for a couple of days and then gook whole on the BBQ. You can just slice it and serve it off of the board next to the grill. It never gets as far as the buffet!!

Jenny,

In Cyprus we make a sweet using young wallnuts before they make any wood. Basically you take the nut and peel the skin off, leaving what will later become the husk. Top and tail them and stic a clove in the base. Wear some clove though as the peeling will make your hands go black.

Basically they are then boiled slowly in a big pot of syrup and then stored in yars. You may have seen them when you were in Cyprus. They look like a black ball on a fork served in a glass of iced water. You drink the water afterwards and it is lovely.

I'll see if I can find a recipe on the net.

FB

[jenny_haddow]

Thanks for that FB, sounds interesting. We have a lot of walnut trees around here and there's a big one in the garden of our local pub. The landlord was telling me that walnuts have to be picked for pickling by Bastille day, must be a bit of French folklore he picked up in his travels.

Cheers

Jen

[welsh wizard]

Ref Pickled Walnuts and beef.

I make a beef, guiness and pickled walnut casserole in the Winter which is yummy, and just a word of advice, make sure you dont add the pickled walnuts at the start of the casserole as they will just disappear. I find they are best added about 30m before the end.

Cheers WW