Three Ways with Courgette

What a beautiful week we are having, absolute glorious sunshine. I'm trying to make the most of it whilst it's here, as we know England isn't the best when it comes to summer. This month for 'Take One, Make Three' I put a poll out on social media to see what you guys wanted. Turns out a lot of you wanted to see some courgette recipes, as we head into July these versatile summer squash will be in abundance. I am actually quite disappointed I didn't grow any in my vegetable garden if I'm honest. But alas, there is always next year.

You may have noticed that I've lead with a double chocolate cupcake, I'm here to assure you that you won't be able to tell they are packed with a whopping 275g of grated courgette. But boy are they moist and absolutely delicious, in the words of Johnathan Van Ness "I can't even!" The Mixture is adaptable too, so you can actually make a 2 layer cake out of it. I really hope you enjoy these recipes and that I've given you some fresh ideas, I really enjoyed creating them.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with semi sweet chocolate frosting

Serves: 18 cupcakesPrep time: 10-15 minsCook time: 18-22 mins*If wanting to make one large cake, split mixture between two greased and lined 9 inch cake pans and cook between 25-35 mins.

Ingredents

• 275g courgette, grated
• 100g white sugar
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 100g dark chocolate chunks
• 80g plain yoghurt, room temperature
• 250g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• Half tsp baking powder
• Half tsp salt
• 60g 100% cocoa solids cocoa powder
• 2 tsp vanilla bean extract
• 240ml vegetable oil

For the frosting:

• 180g low fat cream cheese
• 2 tbsp 100% cocoa solids cocoa powder
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean extract

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 175c/350f/gas mark 4, prepare your cupcake tray and cases.
2. Mix flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl add eggs, sugars, courgette, oil, yoghurt and vanilla and beat together until completely combined with a hand mixer on medium speed or in a stand alone mixer.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix to combine fully. Stir through chocolate chips.
5. Fill your cupcake cases three quarters full and bake for 18-22 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 20 minutes was the perfect time for my oven.
6. Allow to completely cool on a wire rack before frosting.
7. For frosting, mix all ingredients together in a bowl and either pipe or spread on. The un-frosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days. Frosted are to go in the fridge for 1 day.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves: 4Prep time: 5 minsCook time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 6 mini fillet chicken breasts
• 1 and a quarter litre's of chicken stock
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped with green bits included
• 100g courgette, grated
• 125g dried noodles, broke into small pieces
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Pop on a pan of water and add your chicken, cook on high for 10 mins. Drain and shred chicken with two forks.
2. Add chicken back to the empty pan, add hot chicken stock and broken noodles.
3. Cook on medium until noodles are soft, around 8 mins.
4. Add courgette and cook for 2 mins.
5. Season to taste and top with spring onions. (Herbs are great too)

Courgette Fritters

Serves: 8 frittersPrep time: 5 minsCook time: 12 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tsp spicy Paprika
• 200g courgette, grated
• 5 spring onions, finely chopped, green included
• 100g plain flour
• 165g sweetcorn
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 chili

Directions

1. Add grated courgette to a bowl with flour, egg, a sprinkle of salt, paprika, chili and spring onions. Mix until combined.
2. Grab a frying pan and add a good glug of vegetable oil. Once hot and a tablespoon of mixture at a time, flattening into a disc with the spoon. Cook in batches of 4. Cook on each side for 3 minutes until golden. So 6 minutes each batch.
3. Pop on to some kitchen towel to remove access oil.
4. Fritters can be kept in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm through in the oven before serving or serve cold with a salad, bearing in mind that they will have lost their 'crispness'.