Courgettes are one of the thriftiest vegetable plants you can grow. One plant will produce many courgettes and supply you with a crop all summer. When it comes to cooking, courgettes are fantastic, add them to stir fry, cakes and pasta dishes. This is on of my staples for summer and one I rarely get bored with. Quick to prepare and delicious, especially when the courgettes and tomatoes are fresh, it’s a dish I fall back on when I come home with little time to cook supper – but it could easily be made when camping or at the allotment over an open fire. Yellow courgettes have a sweeter taste than most green varieties and the colour makes for an especially attractive meal.
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Courgette ratte (serves 2)
Ingredients
- 4–6 cloves garlic, sliced (more if you’re garlic nuts like me)
- 4 tbsp olive oil (more if you like)
- 4–6 medium-sized courgettes, halved and then sliced lengthways into ½cm-wide strips
- handful of cherry tomatoes
- handful of basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, wok or karahi. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds (don’t allow it to burn, otherwise it will give the dish a slightly bitter taste). Add courgettes, season with salt and pepper, and fry on a medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the courgettes start to brown.
- Lightly crush the cherry tomatoes, add to the courgettes and cook for a further 5 minutes so that any water from the tomatoes is reduced.
- Remove from heat, add torn basil leaves, cover pan and leave for another five minutes before serving. I like to serve it on thick, buttered slices of homemade bread to soak up the delicious oil.
