Ingredient Spotlight: Courgettes - How to Cook Them, Plus 4 Recipes
Boring, bland - and quietly brilliant.
In this week’s Ingredient Spotlight, I’m sharing how to cook courgettes successfully, along with four recipes including courgette fritters, feta egg muffins and lemon risoni.
Courgettes are funny things. Always available, always fresh, and most of the time, predictably disappointing.
I’ve wandered into supermarkets convinced a courgette is exactly what I need to enhance a dish. They look so robust, so reliable, so green. I imagine them as the secret ingredient that will change how I cook. Suddenly, I’m sure this is the vegetable I’ve been neglecting all these years, that secretly has so many uses, and everyone will be equally impressed to find out.
Then you cook it… and the reality is always the same: bland, slightly squishy, occasionally bitter and you’re left wondering - what has the courgette actually done with all the salt you put on it?
Courgettes are not the star. They operate in a quieter, more foundational way than most vegetables, adding body and moisture rather than flavour. Their high water content makes them useful - not exciting - but very good at what they do. A background player, but a reliable one.
Grated into batters for fritters or breads, folded into egg and cheese muffins, or cooked down until they melt into a pasta sauce, they bring texture and softness without demanding attention. They earn their place on a tray bake too, offering a juicy contrast to sharper, saltier flavours like feta or more structured vegetables like carrots or asparagus.
Just keep them away from cauliflower - unless texture isn’t something you look for in a meal.
The courgette is a team player. And once you start treating it that way, it becomes a far more interesting little friend in the kitchen. Below are four recipes that make courgettes worth cooking.
Have you ever had a courgette dish that really impressed you? I’d love to hear about it or see any recipes worth trying…
Courgette Fritters with Salsa and Crispy Fried Eggs
Light, fresh, and full of summery flavours, this combination of courgette fritters, tomato salsa, and crispy fried eggs captures the feeling of warm days with ripe produce and balanced flavours. It’s a lighter, more refreshing take on a traditional fritter, with spoonfuls of the mixture fried until golden on each side. Recipe for Courgette Fritters with Salsa and Crispy Fried Eggs here:
Courgette and Feta Egg Muffins with Chipotle Ketchup
These simple courgette and feta egg muffins make an fun breakfast or snack, or eat them cold straight from the fridge. The courgette keeps them soft, feta adds a salty bite, and oregano and fennel give just enough flavour to keep things interesting. Add chipotle ketchup for a much-needed smoky chilli kick. Recipe for Courgette and Feta Egg Muffins with Chipotle Ketchup here:
Sausage Courgette and Lemon Risoni (Easy Orzo Pasta Recipe)
This is a bright, comforting bowl of risoni with sausage, lemon and capers, finished with just enough crème fraîche to keep it light. The courgette is shaved into ribbons so it keeps its bite, adding green freshness and texture instead of melting away. Best served with a glass of chilled white wine. Recipe for Sausage Courgette and Lemon Risoni (Easy Orzo Pasta Recipe)
Roasted Asparagus Courgette and Feta
A simple tray bake of asparagus, courgette and feta, roasted until tender with lightly crisp edges. Cut lengthways into chunky pieces, the courgette adds a soft, juicy contrast to the firm asparagus and textured roasted feta. Finished with mint, lemon and toasted pine nuts for something fresh, bright and very easy to eat. Recipe for Roasted Asparagus Courgette and Feta here: