Look what I discovered lurking under my zucchini bush! Note the bewildered look on my face. What the heck am I going to do with this massive zucchini. It weighted in at 2.772 kg, and it is the biggest I have ever seen. It wouldn't even fit in the fridge!
But then the ah ha moment!
I shall make a chutney with some of it, and dinner with the remainder.
So it was off to the kitchen to slice half of it up for a zucchini chutney, which I salted and left overnight.
Now for piece de resistance. I found a recipe for Curry Zucchini Soup, which I gave a go. Here it is.
Curry Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
serves 4-6
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 kg (2 1/2 pounds) zucchini
- 1 litre (1 quart) low-salt vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Sweat the onions and garlic in the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan, set over medium heat, don't brown.
Add the zucchini, stock, curry powder and ginger and a large pinch of salt and pepper.
Allow to simmer until the vegetables are very soft - about 45 minutes.
Carefully put the soup, in batches, into a blender, or use an immersion stick blender; blend until smooth.
Stir in the cream, taste, and adjust the seasonings if required.
Serve with crusty bread.
We found this soup to have a wonderful flavour, with a slight kick from the curry powder. All the kids wolfed it down and asked for seconds. I thought it was quite filling.
So, in reflection, that is what you do with a whopping big zucchini!
17 comments:
Here is my recipe tis delish!
Zucchini Relish
4 lbs small zucchini
1/2 lb small white onions
1 qt cider vinegar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp celery seeds
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp mustard seeds
Cut unpeeled zucchini into thin slices, like cucumbers. Peel onions and slice thin. Place vegetables in a large stainless steel or glass bowl. In an enamel or stainless steel saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and pour over vegetables. Let stand 1 hour.
Pour vegetables and liquid into a stainless steel saucepan. Return to heat, bring to a boil, and cook 3 minutes. Pour into hot, sterile/dry jars. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Keep in fridge.
What curry powder do you use, Gavin or is it your own blend?
We have a whole thread of zucchini recipes at the DTE forum ;)
Cheers and congrats!
Sue/coffeee
Hi...I have another idea for you:
http://woollove-functional-fiberart.blogspot.com/2010/01/courgette-zucchini-and-blue-cheese-soup.html
Enjoy!! Heather
@ Kimmie,
Thanks for sharing, that kind of sounds like the relish that I made last year.
@ Sue,
I just use a store bought Clive of India mild curry powder. I haven't tried to make my own, but you have given me an idea!
@ Heather,
Thanks for that recipe. Next time I whip up a wheel of Stilton, I will make this soup. Sounds delicious.
Gav
My mum would have stuffed a zucchini that size. Yum. Mine don't ever get to that size, however my daughters first attempts at growing them resulted in some big fellas.
Hi Gavin
Shred them and put them into the freezer in cup or half cup sized portions then use them to bake zucchini slice, zucchini muffins, chocolate and zucchini cakes, etc.
I love the frugal zealot's universal muffin recipe and I use grated zucchini from the freezer as the 'wet ingredient'. Lovely with lemon zest and coconut if you want something sweet.
Melissa
We had a wicked zucchini that big this year that was given as a gift. We were at a loss as to what to do with it, so we grated it all up into spaghetti sauce :D it was fantastic and added great texture.
We had a LOT of courgettes (zucchinis) and marrows from our garden this year. As well as using them in our general cooking and making lots of ratatouille for the freezer, I made marrow cake/bread, spicy marrow chutney and marrow jams (one with ginger and one with chilli).
The idea of marrow cake made a few of my friends pull faces but when they tried it, they were converted!
I make the Very Special Zucchini Bread from the 101 Cookbooks blog. It really is special, not your workaday zucchini bread. Admittedly, it sounds rather pretentious to call it that when you're offering a slice to a guest, but they usually soon agree. I usually put several of them into the freezer, and pull them out over the course of the year for treats. Also, shredded zucchini hides pretty well in chocolate cake.
I purposely let the last two or three zucchinis of the season grow to club size. I've found they'll keep for a few months stored in my cellar. After the last of fresh out of the garden veggies are gone, those zukes make a welcome addition to baked goods and soup into January: http://firesignfarm.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-cellar-pantry.html
The easiest thing to do is slice it about 3cm thick and put it on the bbq. DDelicious.
.. or if you fancy something sweet for your morning toast you could try this lemon curd like treat
http://nipitinthebud.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/creaming-the-monster-marrow/
no one will ever know what the secret ingredient is!
Gavin, loved the happy camper look on your face, second pic.
Lots of things to do with a whopper.
They're great breaded and fried like green tomatoes.
Can also be sliced thin and dehydrated, as long as the center isn't too seedy, salted and eaten like potato chips.
Or you could let it stay on the vine till it makes seed and save the seed for next year..... --Ilene
Gavin,
Wow, what a buttie!
I just love how much you do with your vegie garden.
Often people grow vegies, but don't use them, me included.
I saw all the produce you made on Vasilli's Garden. You are an inspiration. Keep up the good work and cooking. I might try cheese making one day:) Thanks for the soup recipe too, I cook soups all winter long.
Norma
I'm not sure if a giant zucchini really is the same thing as a vegetable marrow or not, but I use them interchangeably. I use these to make marrow and ginger jam from an old English cookbook. There's no real zucchini flavour in the jam - it just adds bulk. Stuffed baked marrow - breadcrumbs, bacon, cheese and anything else you have lying around - works pretty well too.
You write really good articles, very attractive, I feel very shocked. I hope you can continue with your work, come on!
You write really good articles, very attractive, I feel very shocked. I hope you can continue with your work, come on!
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