Ingredient

Courgette

A courgette is around 95% water. Every disappointing courgette dish is that water arriving somewhere it was not wanted, and every good method is a way of getting rid of it first or driving it off fast.

The water problem

Cut a courgette and put it in a pan and it releases a great deal of liquid. Until that liquid has evaporated, the pan cannot get above 100°C, so the courgette stews in its own water and goes grey and limp rather than browning.

It is also why courgette ruins other dishes — added raw to a lasagne, a quiche or a tart, it releases its water into the filling and the whole thing goes soggy.

The two answers are to remove the water before cooking, by salting, or to cook fast and hot enough that it evaporates as it appears. Which you choose depends on the dish.

Salting and draining

1. Slice or grate the courgette as the recipe requires.
2. Toss with a good pinch of salt in a colander set over a bowl.
3. Leave for twenty to thirty minutes. You will see a surprising amount of liquid collect.
4. Squeeze it out — for grated courgette, wring it in a clean cloth, and be firmer than feels reasonable.
5. Taste before adding more salt to the dish; it will already be seasoned.
6. Use this for fritters, cakes, tarts, quiche fillings and anything baked. Skip it for a fast sauté, where high heat does the job instead.

Methods that work

Griddled or barbecued

Sliced lengthways, oiled, on a very hot griddle. The ridges keep it out of its own liquid and it chars beautifully.

Fried hard

Cut into chunks, very hot pan, plenty of space, not stirred much. Salt at the end.

Roasted

High heat, well spread out, until the edges catch.

Raw

Shaved into ribbons with a peeler and dressed with lemon and oil. Excellent and underused.

Fritters

Grated, salted, squeezed dry, bound with egg and a little flour, shallow-fried.

Not for

Slow simmering or steaming, which leaves it waterlogged, and stews unless you want it to disappear.

Buying and storing

• Smaller is better. Large courgettes and marrows are watery and seedy, with much less flavour.
• The skin should be glossy and firm, and the courgette should feel heavy and solid rather than spongy.
• They keep about a week in the fridge, and they go soft and slimy quickly once they turn.
• The flowers are excellent — stuffed with ricotta and fried in a light batter — and only appear if you grow them or shop somewhere good.
• They do not freeze well raw. Grated, salted, squeezed and frozen, they are fine for cakes and fritters.

Marrows, flowers and the rest of the plant

A courgette is a marrow picked young, and the plant gives more than the vegetable.

Marrow

The same plant left to grow. Watery and bland, and best stuffed, baked or made into chutney rather than treated as a large courgette.

Courgette flowers

The male flowers on their long stems. Stuff with ricotta, batter and fry, or tear raw into a salad. They last a day.

Yellow courgettes

Slightly sweeter and softer. Interchangeable, and worth mixing for colour.

Round and pale varieties

Better for stuffing, because they hold a filling without collapsing.

Very small ones

Firm enough to eat raw, shaved on a mandoline with lemon and oil.

Trombetta and other long types

Denser and less watery, so they roast and grill better than the common kind.

Common questions