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Courgettes with quinoa, ricotta and roasted corn

14th June 2018
Written by: Admin

By Reynolds

Serves four

For the stuffed courgette:

  • 60g organic black quinoa
  • 200ml still mineral water
  • 2 large spring onions, finely chopped
  • 30g roasted corn kernels
  • 15g butter
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1 medium-sized yellow courgette, cut into four, seeds removed with an apple corer
  • 100ml vegetable stock

Courgette flower:

  • 4 courgette flowers, fruit still attached
  • 40g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
  • 400g buffalo ricotta
  • 20g fresh basil, roughly chopped
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Courgette fritter:

  • Large courgette, cut into fine julienne
  • 40g roasted corn kernels
  • 2 large spring onions, finely chopped

Roasted pepper and tomato sauce:

  • 2 red peppers, halved and deseeded
  • 2 large tomatoes on the vine, halved, retain the vine
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 banana shallot, roughly chopped
  • 150ml vegetable stock
  • Pinch of sugar
  • Splash of good balsamic vinegar
  • Sea salt and ground white pepper
  • ¼ mild green chilli, finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • 15g mature Parmesan, finely grated
  • 20g self-raising flour
  • Vegetable oil for deep-frying

To finish:

  • 2 baby courgettes
  • Olive or rapeseed oil
  • 4 Marzanino tomatoes, blowtorched
  • Baby basil leaves
Preparation method

Stuffed courgette:

  • Soak the quinoa in cold water for 20 minutes, rinse and drain well in a fine sieve. Place in a saucepan, cover with the mineral water and season with salt. Cover the pan with cling film and bring to a very gentle simmer. When the quinoa has absorbed all the water and is cooked, drain in a fine sieve.
  • Meanwhile sauté the spring onions and corn in the butter, add the cooked quinoa and check seasoning. Stuff the courgette with the quinoa mix, place in a baking tray and add the vegetable stock. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 160°C for approximately 20 minutes until just cooked and the courgettes are tender but not coloured.

Courgette flower:

  • Gently remove the stamen from the inside of the courgette flowers trying not to dislodge the flower from the fruit.
  • Combine all the other ingredients, retaining 10g of the hazelnuts for garnish. Put the cheese mixture into a piping bag and pipe evenly into the courgette flowers.
  • Gently twist the ends of the blossoms to hold the cheese filling in place. Steam gently until the fruit is just cooked.

Courgette fritter:

  • Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, cover and allow to stand for at least an hour. (Note: at first the mixture will feel very dry but the salt will draw moisture from the courgette to make a batter.) Depending on the time of year and where the courgette was grown you may need to add more flour to the mixture if it gets too sloppy or a little water if it is too dry.
  • When it’s ready, drop teaspoon-sized pieces into the fryer and cook at 180°C until light, crispy and golden brown.
  • Drain the fritters on kitchen paper and season with a little salt.

Roasted pepper and tomato sauce:

  • Drizzle the peppers and tomatoes with half the oil and season, place in a hot oven (220°C) and roast until starting to blacken slightly.
  • Sweat the garlic and shallot in the remaining oil, add the roasted peppers, tomatoes, tomato vine and vegetable stock.
  • Simmer very gently for 20 minutes, then blitz all ingredients in a Themomix, Vitamix or food processor, pass through a fine sieve and return to a saucepan. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar and check the seasoning.

To finish:

  • Split the baby courgettes in half lengthwise, brush with a little olive or rapeseed oil, season and cook on a chargrill or solid top.
  • Assemble all the courgette elements onto four plates, add the blowtorched and warmed Marzanino tomatoes, roasted pepper sauce, wild garlic oil, baby basil leaves and toasted hazelnuts.