Ben Tish’s courgette fritters with sheep’s cheese, herbs and brown‑butter creme fraiche. Photograph: Beca B Jones/The Guardian. Food styling: El Kemp. Prop styling: Florence Blair and Louie Waller. Food styling assistant: Caitlin Macdonald. View image in fullscreen Ben Tish’s courgette fritters with sheep’s cheese, herbs and brown‑butter creme fraiche. Photograph: Beca B Jones/The Guardian. Food styling: El Kemp. Prop styling: Florence Blair and Louie Waller. Food styling assistant: Caitlin Macdonald. Food Fritters and slow-cooked: Ben Tish’s recipes for cooking with courgettes This often underrated but hugely versatile vegetable can be cooked in copious delicious ways. Here are two of them
Prefer the Guardian on Google C ourgettes are an early summer delight, when, such is their appeal and versatility, you often can’t move for them in my kitchen. Even so, I am not entirely sure they get the full recognition they deserve in the UK, not least because we grow some marvellous varieties here. I use courgettes in everything from raw salads (very thinly sliced courgettes tossed in salt and lemon) to slow-cooked, crisp-fried (the flowers are especially good stuffed with cheese or meat, then deep-fried) or lightly charred on a barbecue, which brings out a wonderful sweetness; you can even bake them into a deliciously moist cake. Can you show me a more versatile vegetable?
Prep 10 min Salt 10 min Cook 25 min Serves 4
3 medium courgettes (about 600g), trimmed and grated Sea salt and black pepper 120g crumbly cow or sheep’s cheese , drained and crumbled 2 spring onions , trimmed and finely sliced 1 garlic clove , peeled and grated Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon 1 large handful mixed picked herbs – dill, mint and parsley 2 eggs 120g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder Olive oil , for frying
For the brown‑butter creme fraiche 60g butter Juice of ½ lemon 150g creme fraiche
Put the grated courgettes in a sieve, lightly salt them and leave to steep for 10 minutes. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the salted courgettes, then mix them in a bowl with the cheese, spring onions, garlic, lemon zest, half the herbs and plenty of black pepper. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, then beat in the flour and baking powder to make a thick batter. Fold this into the courgette mix until everything is well combined.
For the dip, melt the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat, then cook for about five minutes, until it smells nutty. Stir in the lemon juice, take off the heat and leave to cool. Whisk the cooled brown butter into the creme fraiche and season.
Now to cook the fritters. In a wide pan, heat a shallow layer of olive oil, then fry spoonfuls of the battered courgettes for a couple of minutes on each side, until crisp and golden; work in batches, if need be. Lift out the cooked fritters with a slotted spoon, season while they’re hot, and keep warm in a low oven while you fry the remaining fritters.
Toss any remaining herbs in the hot oil leftin the pan, to fry and crisp up, then drain.
Serve the fritters scattered with the fried herbs and with the brown‑butter creme fraiche for dipping; a drizzle of good olive oil wouldn’t go amiss, either.
View image in fullscreen Ben Tish’s slow-cooked courgettes with preserved lemon and ricotta on toast. Prep 10 min Cook 35 min Serves 4
Extra-virgin olive oil 5 medium courgettes (about 850g), trimmed and thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves , peeled and crushed 1 small preserved lemon , flesh removed and d…