MARROWS LARGE, MARROWS SMALL, MARROWS LIKE A CANNON BALL.

Long ago and far away, newly married, on a glorious summer Sunday

day,after attending a conference in the north of England my wife and

drove south, homewards.  We had booked lunch in the countryside near

Cambridge at a then famous small restaurantrun by a brilliant, but irascible

Frenchman. After a simple but truly memorable meal we paidup and

departed. The chef-patron, André Amara, was at the garden gate.  He

kissed Maryand gave her a beautiful white rose.  He shook my hand

and from behind his back produceda small marrow, which he gave me

with a sly wink.  Whenever I see one now, I think of that moment, and

I also wish such delicious and simple food was to be had today, and cooked

and served by such a man. (See Footnote) His menu, part of which I

reproduce below,was as eccentric is the man, with its heading in

a jumble of several languages:“Credo in Deo, and in Me”

(“I believe in God and in me”)    

Confusingly, these useful little vegetables come with several names: 

they used to be called “Baby Marrows” and the English boiled them and 

served them rather limp with a white sauce.  When food became 

international the smart glossy magazines called them Zucchini if they 

were American-influenced or Courgettes if they leaned towards the 

continent.   The Greeks, of course, have their own word for it:  

kolokythákia.    This is unpronounceable by anyone 

English, so generally we cling to the French word.   The Greek for 

Courgette Fritters, my recipe for this week is even more difficult. 

These are called kolokithokeftethes and they are a tasty addition to any meze table. Try them as a vegetarian alternative to meatballs or top them with a fresh tzatziki sauce and you just may decide to make them the main meal.

Courgette Fritters: Ingredients for between 25 and 30 fritters:

· 2 ¼lbs.(1 kilo) courgettes

· 2 eggs, lightly beaten

· 1/2 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

· 1/2 cup fresh dill, minced

· ¼cup fresh parsley, minced

· ½ cup all purpose flour, plus more for dredging

· ¼cup self-raising flour

· Salt and pepper to taste

· Olive oil for frying

Method:

1. Using a coarse grater, shred the courgettes and place in a colander.

2. Sprinkle with salt and allow the courgettes to sweat for 15 minutes. Using your hands, squeeze out the excess liquid from the courgettes to make it as dry as possible. (Like you are making courgettes snowballs.)

3. In a medium sized mixing bowl put the courgettes, beaten eggs, crumbled feta, minced herbs, all purpose flour, and self-rising flour.

4. Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well. You don’t want to over mix because the zucchini will get keep releasing more water.

5. Place some all-purpose flour in a shallow plate or baking pan. This will be for rolling the croquettes lightly in flour before frying them.

6. Using medium high heat, heat the olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan.

7. Using a small scoop or a large soup spoon, take a walnut-sized portion of the mixture in your hands and roll it like a meatball. Dredge lightly in flour. Shake off the excess flour before frying. The mixture will be wet and sticky.

8. Fry the croquettes in the olive oil until they are a golden brown colour turning once. You may want to flatten them a little in the pan for more even cooking.

Drain on paper towels or on a cooling rack placed in a half sheet pan There are several ways to serve: with dollops of fresh yogurt; with a tomato salsa; or with a bowl of tzatziki.

Stuffed Courgettes

Ingredients for 12 pieces

6 dark green courgettes (about 15 cms / 6 inches long)

1 smallish onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

200 g of minced lamb or beef

3 slices of Snack brand back bacon, finely chopped

1 tsp tomato purée

1 clove garlic, peeled and very finely chopped

1 tbsp water

1 medium sized tomato, skin removed and chopped

1 very small tub of strained Yogurt

3 – 4 sprigs of min, chopped

50 g of finely grated hard cheese (Cyprus Kefalotiri will do nicely)

1 tbsp chopped parsley.

Salt and pepper to season.

Method

1. Heat your oven to 200ºC / 400ºF

2. Cut off the ends of the courgettes.

3. Blanch the courgettes in boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes.

4. Remove from pan, cool a little, then cut them in half length-ways.

5. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds to leave a nice channel running along the halved courgettes.

6. In a non-stick frying pan, fry the onion until soft and getting a little golden at the edges.

7. Tip the minced meat, bacon and garlic in and stir fry for a minute or so.

8. Now put in the tomato purée, water and sugar. Stir.

9. Stir-fry for 12 – 15 minutes until meat is cooked through, then add the yogurt, chopped tomato and mint. Season to taste, stir well and remove pan from stove.

11. Spoon the mixture into the halved courgettes and sprinkle over the grated cheese.

10. Put in the centre of the hot oven and bake until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.

Courgette Cannon Balls

Round courgettes look very good when brought the table en masse, or individually on a plate. You treat them the same as straight ones (except you cut the top off like a lid and scoop out the inside). Here, they have been stuffed with a mix of meat, onions, garlic, herbs and a few bread crumbs. Lids on, they are put in an oven dish with water half way up the courgettes and cooked at a medium temperature for about an hour, or until the meat is cooked.

“Courgette Ravioli”

In this lovely dish a cooked meat “stuffing” has been wrapped with very thin slices of courgette (lengthways) which have been blanched for a minute or so and oven baked for a few minutes. Elegant and tasty accompanied by a rice pilaff with slivers of almonds.

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Footnote: After this lunch, which had been preceded by a glass Kir Royal (Champagne and Blackcurrant liqueur), accompanied by a bottle of wine and completed with cognac, we felt rather drowsy and soon drove the car into a field, got out and lay on the grass. Instantly we fell asleep and only woke after three hours, when it was dark and cool. Not the sort of thing we would do today. Alas.