Almond buttered bean salad

Ingredients 2 tbs almond butter, 1 tsp truffle oil, 1/4 cup peas, 1/2 courgette, 1 avocado, 1 can cannellini beans.

Serves: 4 (or two as a side dish) Preparation: 10 minutes

Winter to me (like every other season as a vegetarian I suppose!) is somewhat bean-centric. Soups and stews galore are packed with the wonderful range of colours and textures that these little nuggets of protein provide. This salad combines the delicate flavour of courgette and cannellini beans with gutsy almond, earthy truffle and sweet, fresh peas. The dressing is slick and silky with avocado.

1) Rinse the beans and bring to the boil in a pan of salted water for 5 minutes.

2) In a separate pan, warm the almond butter and truffle oil, stirring until a runny dressing has formed, then take off the heat.

3) Slice the avocado in half and use a tablespoon to scoop it from the shell. If the avocado is ripe enough the stone will pop out with a spoon but another good method is to prick it with a knife and pull it out. For the purpose of this dish, roughly dice it into centimetre thick pieces and stir gently into the almond and truffle dressing along with the peas. Some of the avocado will melt to form a thicker sauce and the remains will add texture.

4) I like thin slices of raw courgette in this dish, but you can roast chunks of it if you prefer. Add to the pan of dressing then drain the beans and stir through before serving warm or cold.

Orzotto: roast vegetable & goji berry

Ingredients 1 cup pearl barley, 1 pint vegetable stock, 3 sun dried tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1 courgette, 1/4 cup goji berries, rosemary, thyme, butter, white onion.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 1 hour

All risottos (no matter what the ingredients) can be made in 3 simple stages. The first is called tostatura - coating the rice in fat, the second involves cooking off some alcohol and the third involves releasing the starch from the rice one ladle of stock at a time. Using spelt or pearl barley as an alternative to rice makes a wonderful change to the Italian classic but pearl barley, unlike spelt and rice can be left to cook with the whole pint of stock making it less high-maintenance to cook. This flavour-packed combination of roast courgettes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and juicy goji berries is perfect to fight Winter lurgy.

1) Dice the bell pepper and courgette and roast in a little olive oil for 15 minutes in a covered dish. Dice the sun-dried tomatoes and add them along with the goji berries to the roasting dish to allow them to rehydrate in the roasting juices.

2) Finely dice the white onion and sautee until soft in a little butter. Season to taste with rosemary and thyme and add the pearl barley. Stir through until coated in fat, then add the roast vegetables and vegetable stock.

3) Leave to simmer with the lid on for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until the stock has almost all been absorbed, leaving a wonderful silky, fragrant sauce.

Stuffed courgette: red rice, cheddar & avocado

Ingredients 1 Courgette, 1 avocado, 1/4 cup red rice (I got mine from Millie's in Leeds), 1/4 cup cheddar, olive oil.

Serves: 1 Preparation: 35 minutes

Round courgettes are adorable - just as fresh and juicy as their longer counterpart, but in a convenient shape for stuffing. The filling was inspired by my husband mistaking the courgette for an avocado, bless him the shape and size and colour is similar enough... the red rice adds texture to the meltingly soft avocado and cheddar and makes this a great meal for a hungry tummy.

1) Slice the courgette in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon drizzle it with olive oil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees.

2) Cover the rice with water and cook on the hob for 30 minutes before straining.

3) Slice the avocado in half and use a tablespoon to scoop it from the shell. If the avocado is ripe enough the stone will pop out with a spoon but another good method is to prick it with a knife and pull it out. Slice the avocado into chunks and stir into the rice along with the cheddar, grated. Spoon the filling into the courgette and return to the oven for 1 minute before serving.

Halloumi & roast vegetable cous-cous

Ingredients 1 bell pepper, 1 courgette, 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 50ml passata, 100g halloumi, 1/2 cup giant cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds).

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

Cous-cous is made using semolina which has been sprinkled with water, hand rolled and then passed through a sieve, dusted with more semolina and rolled and passed through again to form the granules that you can buy in the shops. Cous-cous in Israel has a much larger granule and personally I prefer it, the texture is more like the bubbles in a tapioca pudding and it's absolutely delicious, absorbing flavour more intensely than the smaller grains do.
This recipe is a fabulous mixture of soft textures and strong flavours.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Slice the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the portions of flesh from between the membranes and slice into strips. Cut the courgette and halloumi into chunks and roast with the pepper on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

3) Stir the vegetables and cheese into the cous-cous along with the paprika and passata and a squeeze of lemon juice, then serve.

Courgette & potato bake

Ingredients 1 potato, 1 courgette, 5 cherry tomatoes, 30g basil, 100g Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, 100g cheddar.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

Everyone loves a good dauphinoise, but sometimes all that indulgence can get to even me and I yearn for something creamy and melty with a crispy top... but that won't make my thighs double in size at the very thought of it.
Enter yoghurt. One of my favourite ingredients as a vegetarian, it transforms this dish from a heavy carb fest into a light, tangy summer side dish.

1) Finely slice the potato and courgette with a knife, or using a mandoline. Parboil the potatoes for 4 minutes and set aside to cool.

2) Finely dice the basil, grate the cheddar and stir into the yoghurt.

3) Slice the cherry tomatoes into halves and then quarters, using your thumb to shuck away the seeds and juice from the centres. Stir into the yoghurt mix.

4) In an oven-proof dish, layer the potatoes and courgettes with the yoghurt mix, pressing down each layer firmly. I like to top with an additional layer of grated cheese but this is entirely to taste.

5) Bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees until the top has begun to crisp and turn golden brown. Serve hot.

Courgette & goats cheese linguine

Ingredients 1 courgette, 30g basil, 30g goats cheese, 1 tbsp butter, linguine.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 15 minutes

I adore courgettes. They're so versatile and are at once a juicy addition to a dish, and a perfect vehicle to soak up other flavours.

1) Bring the pasta to the boil in a pan of salted water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

2) Cut the courgette into centimetre thick slices, then quarter. Add to a pan with the butter and freshly chopped basil and sautee for 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

3) Strain the linguine in a colander and pour in with the courgette. Stir in the goats cheese until it has coated the pasta and courgette, then serve.

Courgette & avocado linguine

Ingredients 1 courgette, 1 avocado, 1 lemon, coriander, parmigiano, linguine.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 15 minutes

I was just plating up this meal when my waters broke, leading to the premature birth of my Starchild, but please don't blame the food! This dish is full of spring freshness - juicy courgette, creamy avocado and citrus notes of lemon and coriander make wonderful company for pasta.

1) Bring the pasta to the boil in a pan of salted water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

2) Cut the courgette into centimetre thick slices, then quarter. Toss in freshly squeezed lemon juice and coriander, then roast in the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes.

3) Halve the avocados and scoop the fruit from the shell, discarding the stone. Pulse in the blender until smooth and creamy, then stir in the courgette and linguine. Serve with shavings of parmigiano.

Quinoa burgers

Ingredients 1 cup quinoa, 1 leek, cheddar, 1 egg, 1/2 courgette, butter

Serves: 4 preparation: 30 minutes

I've been working on a number of fritters and burgers recently for those with intolerances and this quinoa burger turned out beautifully. So much so that I ate two last night and considered making more. Little piggy...

Quinoa is cooked like a cereal, but is technically a seed. It's high in lovely amino acids like lysine and a good source of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Plus... it's yummy. I often eat it like a porridge but it makes a great burger too. Give this fabulous leek and cheddar mixture a try.

1) Soak the quinoa for 5 minutes and rinse well in a sieve. Depending on where you buy it, it naturally has an acrid coating called saponin which you don't want flavouring your food!

2) Cover the quinoa in salted water and bring to the boil for about 15 minutes, stir continually as it soaks up the water and fluffs up, then remove from the heat.

3) Chop the leek and grate the courgette before sizzling in a little butter. Add the quinoa and stir through before setting aside to cool.

4) Whisk an egg and stir through the quinoa mixture, then cut small cubes of cheddar and stir through the mixture.

5) Form patties with your hands or by pressing into a circle mould, then bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

Lavender curry

Ingredients 400g Coconut milk, 1 tsp lavender, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 white onion, 400g spinach, 1 courgette, butter or ghee, 2 cloves garlic

Serves: 2 preparation: 30 minutes

My personal curry tastes appeal more to the Thai style "soupy" green curries, but lavender could be used in a thicker Indian style Korma sauce if you prefer.
The exotic fragrance and flavour works in the same way coriander or mint does to cut the spices, and as in previous recipes - lavender is a perfect partner to coconut.

1) Grind the lavender with the spices in a mortar and pestle and set aside.

2) Finely dice the onion and add to the pan with the butter or ghee. Cook until the onions are soft, then add the garlic and spices and stir through.

3) Slice the courgette and cut each slice into quarters. Add to the pan and stir through, before adding the coconut milk.

4) Turn down the heat and allow to simmer gently until the courgette has begin to soften. Add the spinach and stir through until it has wilted, though not begun to lose its colour. Serve with rice or naan bread.

Courgette Fettucini

Ingredients 4 courgettes, pine nuts, double cream, 3 egg yolks, pecorino,

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes


I love pasta. There I've said it... I love the versatility of cooking with it and find it comforting to make but sometimes an alternative needs to be found. I have lots of friends who don't or can't eat it and I find this light alternative to be fantastic. So light in fact that I felt the need to make an incredibly ingulgent sauce to go with it...


1) Slice the tops and tails from the courgettes and then using a vegetable peeler, slice ribbons from each edge and then slice each ribbon in half vertically. Continue working round until about half the courgette has gone, then either discard the core or save it for soup or bread!


2) In a pan, toast off a handful of pine nuts and add double cream and grated pecorino to the pan. Stir through on a gentle heat until the cheese has melted, then whisk 3 egg yolks into it. Add the courgette ribbons to the sauce and stir through until they are coated.


Serve with lots of freshly grated black pepper.

Courgette & feta soup

Ingredients 4 courgettes, 150g feta, 1/2 pint vegetable stock, 1/2 lemon, mint

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes


I love soup. I find all the chopping, stirring and pureeing very soothing, the warm smells that fill the house comforting, and I love ladling out steamy bowls of soup for people to dunk hot crispy bread into, dressing it with ever more creative croutons or swirls of cream and yoghurt. This winter I have created 10 new soups to warm you through on a cold day. This soup is the perfect combination of Summer fresh flavours and comforting wintry texture.


1) Slice and dice the courgettes - discarding the tops and tails - and add into a pan with the vegetable stock. 


2) Allow to simmer for 20 minutes, then strain and pulse thoroughly in a blender. Add back to the stock along with some freshly chopped mint and the juice of half a lemon.


3) Season to taste with salt and black pepper, then serve with cubes of feta.

Limoncello & rosemary tempura battered courgette

Ingredients 2 courgettes, 1 cup plain flour, limoncello, black pepper, rosemary, 1/2 cup ice water.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

Since my good friend Leo gave me a present of some cream of limoncello for catsitting The Major, I have been determined to create some interesting uses for this Italian liqueur. Tempura batter was the first thing that came to mind (a fabulously light, crispy batter which you'll remember me using for tempura avocado and tempura bacon in previous recipes) and this combination of lemon, rosemary and black pepper is absolutely classic with lovely, fresh courgette.

1) In preparation, put a jug of water into the freezer to ensure it's as cold as possible without actually being frozen, and heat your deep fat fryer to 170 or bring a pan of oil to the boil.

2) Wash the courgettes and slice off the tops and bottoms, slice them in half widthways and then lengthways and finally slicing each piece into three wedges by angling the knife towards the centre of each piece.

3) Mix the flour with 1 tsp of finely chopped rosemary, black pepper and salt and then roll the courgette pieces into the dry mixture to coat them in flour. (this will help the wet batter stick to them) Remove the courgette and set aside.

4) Mix about 1 tsp of limoncello into the batter and then top up with ice water until a batter thick enough to coat a spoon is formed. Don't stir it too well - lumps are good here!

5) Dip each piece of courgette into the batter and drop into your deep fat fryer/boiling oil. The secret to good tempura is the combination of icy cold batter and hot oil so mix the batter at the last possible second.

Once the batter is crispy and golden it's ready to serve - absolutely perfect with good old ketchup but if you want to try some of my other dips check out the following recipes: cheese & chive, Wensleydale & cranberry, Basil dip, roast pepper & goats cheese, spinach dip, rose tzatziki, avocado tzatziki, aioli, baked camembert, basil hummus and hummus.

Leek and courgette stuffed conchiglioni

Ingredients 8 Conchiglioni shells, 1 courgette, 1/2 a leek, 15g pine nuts, 15g mozarella, 10g parmigiano, 100ml cream, basil oil.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

I have despaired of late at the cost of pine nuts. Due to their popularity over the past 5 years they have steadily risen in price to a level which has caused me to stubbornly escheq them completely and bring you recipes using a range of more reasonably priced nuts. I'm not going to suggest that I have anything to do with the price going down but go down it has so let us one again embrace the pine nut!

1) Cook the conchiglioni shells in hot water for 10 minutes, strain and set aside to cool just enough for you to be able to handle them (go go gadget asbestos fingers!)

2) Whilst the pasta is cooking, finely dice half a leek and sautee in a tablespoon of basil oil until soft. Grate the courgette into the pan and stir through, adding a little more basil oil.

3) Remove from the hob after 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Add the grated mozarella and pine nuts and stir through.

4) Using the same pan, pour in the cream and grated mozarella and whisk rapidly over a low flame until the mozarella has been completely incorporated and the cream has thickened a little.

5) Stuff the pasta shells with the leek and courgette mixture (they should take a good tablespoon at least) - again be careful not to burn yourself!

6) Ladle the parmeggian cream onto a dish and set the shells in the sauce. If the shells are still hot, serve, otherwise this could be heated in the oven for a few minutes (not too long or the sauce will curdle and the pasta will dry!)

Courgette & pistachio bread

Ingredients  1 courgette, handful of pistachios, 500g wholemeal flour, 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 150ml  marscapone, 125ml milk, juice and zest of 1 lemon.

Serves: 8 Preparation: 1 hour


This bread manages to be at once light and spongy in the centre and incredibly crusty - I couldn't believe what a fabulous crust this formed from the texture of the nuts which also gave this enough flavour for me not to need to add any salt to the mix.



1) Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and grate the courgette into it. Stir well until each piece of courgette is coated in flour.

2) Finely dice the pistachios (this took me about 25 minutes so a quicker option would be to crush them in a mortar and pestle!) then stir in to the flour mix.


3) Zest the lemon and stir into the flour mix, then squeeze the juice from the lemon and stir that through too.

4) Stir through the marscapone and add the milk little by little until a soft, sticky dough is formed.

5) Form a rough ball with the dough and dust with flour, or set in a loaf tin. Slice a line down the top with a knife and bake on a baking sheet for 30 minutes or until a good crust has formed which sounds hollow when you tap it.

Courgette linguine with pistou

Ingredients Linguine, 1 courgette, 50g parmigiano, basil oil, 50g toasted almonds, 50g basil, salt, 1 lemon

Serves: 4 Preparation: 15 minutes

Pistou is a French version of pesto, traditionally spooned onto soup - I happen to also think it is pretty fabulous stirred into pasta as a change from pesto.

1) To make pistou; Roughly chop some basil and then grind in a mortar and pestle thoroughly, adding a pinch of salt, the toasted almonds and a squeeze of lemon to taste.


2) Cook the linguine in hot, salted water for 10 minutes , then strain.


3) Using a vegetable peeler, peel strips from the courgette and add to the pasta along with a squeeze of lemon juice and a little basil oil. Stir through the pistou and serve with freshly grated parmeggian.

Courgette & gruyere soup

Ingredients Vegetable stock, 1 potato, 2 courgettes, gruyere, lemon

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes

This soup has a velvety thick texture and the fresh flavour of the courgette and lemon is undercut beautifully by the rich nuttiness of the gruyere.

1) Peel and dice 1 potato and simmer in 1 pint of vegetable stock and the juice of 1 lemon for 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and either mash or blend until completely pureed.


2) Add the potato back to the vegetable stock and stir through until fully integrated.


3) Grate 2 courgettes into the soup and stir through. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.


4) Allow the courgette to soften, simmering it on a low heat for 5 - 10 minutes and then finish by stirring through a handful of grated gruyere.

Potato skins stuffed with courgette & pistachio pesto

Ingredients Potato, courgette, basil, basil oil, parmigiano, pistachio, baby plum tomatoes.

I make mashed potatoes in 3 different ways depending on the time I have, or the type of mash I'm making.
On the occasions where I bake the potatoes in the oven I cannot resist saving the skins to stuff them with scrummy things.

1) Cover the potatoes in foil and bake for 1 and a half hours.


2) Scoop the potato from the skins ensuring that you leave a thin layer of potato to give the shell some integrity. Set the potato aside to cool.


3) To make the pesto: Grind a handful of pistachios in a mortar and pestle, then grind a handful of basil into the nuts. Stir through some basil oil, a little finely grated parmeggian and stir the pesto into roughly grated courgette.


4) Spoon the courgette pesto into the potato shells, top with halved baby plum tomatoes and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Courgette fritti

Ingredients Courgette, plain flour, egg, milk

1) Top and tail the courgette and slice into thick batons.


2) Whisk an egg with a little flour and a splash of milk until a thick batter is formed. Dip the courgette into the batter and once coated, drop into boiling groundnut oil until the batter is crispy.


3) Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon

Sun dried tomato & roast vegetable conchiglie

Ingredients    Sun dried tomatoes, tomato passata, 4 garlic cloves, aubergine, courgette, parmigiano, conchiglie pasta

1) Slice the aubergine into thick slices and rest in a colander. Sprinkle with salt to draw out the bitter juices. After 20 minutes, rinse off the juice and pat dry. 


2) Cut the aubergine into chunks and roast in the oven along with some sliced and quartered chunks of courgette. If your sun dried tomatoes are marinated with oil - use some of the oil to drizzle on the vegetables before roasting.


3) Using the same oil - add some into a pan and crush 4 cloves of white garlic into it. It has a wonderfully rich flavour but keep the heat low as this type of oil will burn very easily. Don't use the oil if it contains vinegar or herbs or spices as these flavours will likely burn too and leave you with a bitter mess!
Add the tomato passata and stir through.


4) Finely slice the sun dried tomatoes and add to the pan, along with the roasted vegetables. You shouldn't need to season further due to the intensity of the sun dried tomatoes (and bear in mind this will be topped with parmeggian too!) but this is entirely to taste.


5) Boil the conchiglie for 10-15 minutes in boiling salted water. Strain the pasta and stir it into the sauce, spinkle with shaved parmeggian and serve.



If you can't bear the thought of eating a vegetarian dish, why not stir through some parma ham?

Soba noodles with plum sauce

Ingredients 1lb plums, 50g sugar, 3 cloves garlic, 4 scotch bonnet chillis, ginger root, lime juice, yoghurt, soba noodles, spinach, red bell pepper, courgette, Quorn chicken/chicken

1) To make the plum sauce, cut the plums in half and remove the stones. Add into a saucepan with 50g of sugar and a cup of water. Stir through until the sugar has dissolved.

2) As the plums begin to soften, peel and slice a root of ginger and add into the pan along with 3 crushed garlic cloves and a squeeze of lime.

3) Remove the seeds and stalks from 4 scotch bonnet chillis, slice in half and add into the pan. Stirring frequently, allow the mixture to reduce and the sauce to thicken, then pass through a sieve - leaving the ginger and the chilli and fruit skins seperate from the liquid.

This sweet, fiery sauce is best served in a stir fry but would also go wonderfully with duck, or as a marinade for kebabs like my butternut squash and beetroot kebabs.

4) Add the Quorn chicken pieces to a pan along with a generous helping of the plum sauce and some julienne slices of courgette and bell pepper.

5) Cook the soba noodles in hot salted water for 5 minutes, then add to the pan along with a few generous handfuls of spinach.

6) Stir through until the sauce has coated everything and the spinach has just begun to wilt, then serve topped with yoghurt. Personally I think Rachel's Organic Greek style coconut yoghurt is absolutely PERFECT for this dish.