Courgette Tart – Scarpaccia

by Lou Robbie

We are always looking for ways to use our gorgeous homegrown glossy green courgettes. This is our take on an Italian dish called Scarpaccia which loosely means ‘bad shoe’ because its as thin as a bad shoe apparently! It does make a very thin courgette tart for sure. The courgettes are very thinly sliced and the juice is extracted with salt but not wasted as it goes into the batter. We love the zero waste here.

Most of the recipes I came across used cornmeal but I used dried panko breadcrumbs in their place and it worked out just fine.

This is a gorgeous recipe to try, let us know if you do.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 6 slices

  • 3 courgette(800g)- very finely sliced
  • 1 red onion – very finely sliced 
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • ¼ cup dried panko breadcrumbs or cornmeal – this ingredient is important to give a crisp texture not mushy.
  • 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • Pinch black pepper 

Method:

Step 1: Use a mandoline if you have one to finely slice the courgettes and red onion, 2-3mm thick. Then add the slices to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the salt and toss through with your hands to coat in the salt, 2-3 minutes. Put a plate on top and a weight like a couple of tins to help extract all the liquid. Leave this for 2 hours. 

Step 2: Preheat the oven 180ºC and oil a baking tray really well, 9 x 13 inch is what I used.  After this time, use a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel. Add the vegetables and squeeze out the extra liquid. The courgette juice will be used for the batter. To the juice add in the flour, dried panko breadcrumbs, fresh thyme leaves, nutritional yeast and black pepper, whisk well it should look like pancake batter. Then add the vegetables back in and stir to coat.  **If the batter seems very thick add a small dash of water.

Step 3: Pour the mix into the baking tray and use a spoon to smooth out evenly. 

Step 4: Bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and golden on top.

Slice and enjoy with a fresh seasonal salad.

Creamy Courgette Orzo Pasta- ONE POT

by Lou Robbie

Our beautiful Irish courgettes are in season, they are plentiful, glorious and glossy green! And we will be eating them in every way possible over the next couple of months! This time we are going creamy and cheesy. Just one pot is required to make this comforting bowl of goodness.

We love all sorts of pasta in our house and orzo is a particular favourite. We always have the “Is it rice?” conversation, I’m guessing most families do! Its always great to add variety to mealtimes and especially if you have curious kids in the house!

Do you fancy making this tasty one pot meal? Let us know in the comments we love to hear from you.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 2 big portions

  • 1 small leek sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 250g orzo pasta
  • 1 pint veg stock 
  • 1 Irish courgette – 300g approx- coarsely grated
  • 100ml cream
  • Parmesan grated 
  • Salt and pepper to taste 

Method:

  • Step 1: Finely slice the leeks and garlic.
  • Step 2: Warm a pot on a medium heat, add a tablespoon of cooking oil, add with the leeks, garlic, a small pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Cook gently to soften.
  • Step 3: Next pour in the orzo and veg stock and simmer to cook for 10 minutes, stir occasionally to stop the pasta sticking on the bottom of the pot.
  • Step 4: Add the cream to the pot then coarsely grate the courgette, and add this too. Simmer for a further few minutes, then stir in a handful of parmesan cheese.
  • If the sauce looks too thin, turn up the heat for a couple of minutes and let the sauce bubble, but stir it so it doesn’t stick. Add some more salt and pepper if needed.
  • Serve with extra grated parmesan.

Irish Root Veg and Feta Frittata

by Lou Robbie

This frittata is so handy to make and works perfectly with gorgeous Irish root veg! You can add just about any cooked veg to your frittata, here we are using delicious turnip and potato thats delicious with spinach and feta. Any left over cooked veg can be used think beetroot, peppers, courgette, carrots, parsnips, broccoli or peas it’s a real #zerowaste hero recipe.

This recipe makes a large frittata that is great for feeding a crowd for lunch, dinner or picnic. The best part is you can have it hot or cold.

Make a root veg with your next veg box.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: makes 8 big slices

  • 300g cooked turnip/swede, cooled and diced
  • 300g cooked potato, cooled and diced
  • 150g feta
  • 18 eggs
  • zest 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • handful spinach

Method:

  • Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC and line a baking tin (20cm x 30cm) with parchment paper.
  • Step 2: Scatter the cooked turnip and potato, evenly, over the bottom of the tray.
  • Step 3: Chop the baby spinach roughly and put it on top of the turnip and potato.
  • Step 4: In a bowl whisk the eggs along with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Zest the lemon into the egg and mix well.
  • Step 5: Pour the egg mix over the veg and push any veg sticking up down with a fork.
  • Step 4: Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through.
  • Serve warm with a salad or cold on a picnic.

Beetroot Hummus w/ Toasted Tortilla Chips

by Lou Robbie

Big beautiful earthy beetroots full of flavour, sweetness and goodness! If you’re not familiar with cooking them from raw then cook them like a potato. Steam, boil or roast and you won’t go too far wrong.

Steaming beetroots is a great way to lock in the nutrients and a gentle way to cook your beetroots. When they pierce easily with a knife they are ready. Cool and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to make this hummus.

The colour of this hummus was gorgeously pink and vibrant!

Serve as a dip with tortilla chips, as a side on a mezze plate, as a dressing with a lentil and goat cheese salad or a topping on an open sandwich with roasted veg.

Enjoy,

Lou 🙂

  • 300g raw beetroot
  • 1 tin of cooked chickpeas drained – (400g)
  • 1 clove garlic grated
  • 1/2 lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon light tahini
  • 2 tablespoon light oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2-3 large tortilla wraps
  • light oil
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds – optional

To make the hummus

  1. Begin by cooking the raw beetroots. Wash the beetroot and cut the tops off, keep the skin on if you wish. Quarter and steam in a pot for 40 mins, or until they piece easily with a knife. (I have a powerful blender so I keep the skins on for this recipe, peel if you wish)
  2. Cool the beets and store in the fridge until you are ready to make the hummus.
  3. Once cooled add the beetroot to a blender along with the drained chickpeas, grated garlic clove, lemon juice, tahini, oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
  4. Blend the hummus until it’s smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

To make the tortilla chips and toasted sesame seeds.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Have a couple of large baking trays at hand.
  2. Simply cut the tortilla wraps into triangles. Do this by cutting the wraps in half. Then quarters then eights.
  3. Lay the triangles on the trays, space them out so they don’t overlap.
  4. Spray or drizzle with oil and sprinkle with paprika.
  5. Toast in the oven for 5-10 minutes, keep a close eye on them. When they are lightly toasted they are ready.
  6. To toast the sesame seeds put them on a tray and toast for 5-10 minutes until golden.

To serve:

Add the beetroot hummus to a bowl, top with toasted sesame seeds, if you wish and the toasted tortilla chips.