Zephyr Courgettes

Zephyr courgettes have a wonderful appearance with a delicate texture and a mild buttery flavour compared to standard courgettes.

Use just as you would a standard courgettes – raw, slow cooked or fast cooked, perfect for summer salads and stir-fries adding colour and variety to cooking.

Scarring may be more visible as the courgettes are lighter in colour, this is typical of the variety. The ratio of green to yellow can vary greatly – sometimes they are completely yellow and other times they are a stripey green!

DGM Growers are able to offer Zephyr courgettes during the UK season grown by us.

Try us fried, grilled, steamed or baked.

Top and tail, chop into 1/2 cm rounds and fry in seasonal oil or butter until golden and the flesh starts to soften.

Courgette Rotolo (Serves 6):

Ingredients

– 3 zephyr courgettes
– 300g chard
– 4 garlic cloves, 3 peeled and sliced, 1 peeled and grated
– 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
– 500ml passata
– 2 tbsp tomato puree
– 750g ricotta
– 20g fresh basil
– Zest of 1 lemon
– Oil, for frying
– Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
  2. Heat 2tbsp of oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Add the sliced garlic and fry until soft. Add the ground fennel seeds, passata and tomato puree and cool for 10 minutes. Turn the hob off and set aside.
  3. Using a peeler, slice the zephyr courgettes into thin ribbons.
  4. Blanche the chard in a pan with salted boiling water and transfer into a bowl of cold water. Squeeze out the excess water.
  5. Finely chop the chard and mix it with the ricotta, salt and pepper.
  6. Spoon a teaspoon of ricotta and chard mixture on each courgette ribbon. Spread the mixture over the whole ribbon and then roll into a spiral. 
  7. Arrange these spirals in the pan with the tomato sauce in and bake I the oven for 15 minutes.
  8. Chop the basil and mix it with the grated garlic and lemon zest. Serve.