COURGETTES

Courgettes are easy to grow and produce at a phenomenal rate throughout the summer. Just four plants will give enough courgettes to provide a family with a meal a week from June till September and the yield is so high that there’s plenty left over to freeze for the winter. This makes courgettes ideal for those with limited growing space, but an interest in growing their own food.

We’ve experimented with a number of courgette recipes and have narrowed this down to three favourites. In the summer, we simply pick them fresh, chop them into chunks, along with mushrooms, celery and tomatoes – and roast them with a little olive oil and garlic in the oven. When mixed with our own homemade pasta, this makes a great affordable meal.

Another favourite is simply cutting them into long slices, brushing them with a little olive oil and sea salt, and then grilling them on the barbeque along with our own homemade sausages or beef burgers.

However, now that the winter’s here we tend to opt for the courgette and potato bake posted in our recipe section earlier today. This makes good use of the supplies we’ve built up in the freezer and it is amazing to think that just four plants provide enough to feed us each week for most of the year. Just like spinach, this is another great city smallholder crop.