Puff tart and brown sugar loaf – Alexina Anatole's courgette recipes
There is nothing easier or more gratifying in summer than a tart topped with the season's bounty. Serve with a rocket salad for a light lunch, or alongside your protein of choice. The courgette 'butter' is endlessly adaptable: turn it into a pasta sauce with a spoonful or two of creme fraiche, or use it to fill quesadillas.
Prep 30 minCook 25 minServes 6-8
For the courgette 'butter'3 tbsp olive oil
3 medium-large courgettes (about 670g)
3 small garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced½ tsp fine sea salt
Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lime
For the tart320g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry3-4 tbsp ricotta, or creme fraiche or cream cheese
10g parmesan, finely gratedEgg wash, or milk, to glaze
Put the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Meanwhile, top and tail the courgettes, then slice into very fine 1mm-2mm-thick rounds (if you have one, use a mandoline).
Tip the sliced courgettes, garlic and salt into the pan, stir to coat everything in the hot oil, then turn up the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until the courgettes start to break down. Turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for another 15 minutes, until the courgettes are soft and jammy and a bit like butter; if you like, leave the courgettes to cool and store in the fridge for up to three days.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Unravel the pastry sheet and its paper on to a large baking tray, trimming off any excess paper, if need be, then use a small knife to score a light 1cm border all around the edge of the pastry. Spoon dollops of the ricotta into the centre of the pastry, then spread it all over the base up to the border.
Squeeze the lime juice on to the cooked courgettes, then spread them evenly over the the ricotta and top with an even scattering of the parmesan and the grated lime zest. Brush the border with egg wash (or milk), then bake for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are puffed up and deeply golden. Serve immediately.
This is a brilliant way to use up a glut of courgettes, turning them into a soft, cinnamon-spiced cake with deep caramel notes from the muscovado sugar and a hit of aniseed fragrance from the fennel seeds. Perfect for an afternoon tea break.
Prep 20 minCook 50 minServes 8
For the cake210g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
250g grated courgettes (2 small-medium courgettes)100g dark muscovado sugar
2 medium eggs
200g granulated sugar
50g creme fraiche, plus extra to serve1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Finely grated zest of 1 lemonJuice of ½ lemon
120ml olive oil
1 tbsp demerara sugar
1 tsp fennel seeds, roughly crushed
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
In a medium-large bowl, thoroughly whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarb and salt, then add the grated courgette and toss until evenly coated.
In a large jug, whisk themuscovado sugar and eggsfor about a minute, until there are no significant lumps and the mix is a little frothy. Whisk in the granulated sugar, creme fraiche, vanilla, lemon zest and juice, then stream in the olive oil, whisking all the time.
Pour the wet mix into the courgette bowl, whisk just until combined, then scrape into the lined loaf tin. Mix the demerara sugar and crushed fennel seeds, then sprinkle evenly all over the top. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove and leave the loaf to cool in its tin for five to 10 minutes, then carefully unmould and transfer to a rack to cool completely. The cake is delicious as is, but slices can also be served with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil (or maple syrup, if you have more of a sweet tooth).
Alexina Anatole is the author of the Small Wins Substack and Sweet: The Secret to the Best Desserts, published by Square Peg at £27. To order a copy for £24.30, go to guardianbookshop.com.
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2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Eight super simple Middle Eastern recipes from Sunday Brunch chef Sabrina Ghayour
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NOW BUY THE BOOK Our recipes are taken from Persiana Easy by Sabrina Ghayour, with photographs by Kris Kirkham (Mitchell Beazley, £28, published on 14 August). To pre-order a copy for £23.80, go to or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over £25.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Olive oil cake with orange slices and flaked almonds
This bake encapsulates summer. It's made with Tesco Finest extra virgin olive oil, produced by a family mill in southern Sicily, which makes the cake extra moist. It also adds a delicious layer of flavour and offers a healthier, dairy-free alternative to butter. In the summer, I want cake I can serve after barbecues with a ball of ice-cream. This easy recipe works really well for that. Simply boil an orange then blend it into a silky cake batter, and you'll have a deliciously light and fragrant cake where the citrus notes really come alive. And, of course, it's even better served with an indulgent scoop of Tesco Finest pistachio ice-cream or pistachio gelato, for a velvety and nutty flavour. Prep 15 min Cook 1 hr 30 min Serves 10 3 oranges 4 Tesco Finest free-range chestnut maran eggs 200ml Tesco Finest Sicilian extra virgin olive oil 70g Tesco Finest Greek yoghurt 200g caster sugar 100g ground almonds 200g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp fine sea salt 30g flaked almonds 2 tbsp icing sugar To serve Tesco Finest roasted pistachio ice-cream or Tesco Finest pistachio gelato Suggested wine pairingTesco Finest sauternes Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Add one whole, unpeeled orange and boil for 30 minutes. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and leave to cool. Then quarter the orange and remove the pips. Blend the orange quarters, including the rind, in a blender then pour into a large mixing bowl. Line a deep springform cake tin with parchment. Peel and slice the remaining two oranges into 5mm thick rounds and arrange these on the bottom of the tin. To the mixing bowl, add the eggs, olive oil, yoghurt and caster sugar and whisk everything together. Add the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt and whisk briefly until combined. Pour the mix into the tin and bake for 55 minutes or until springy to the touch. Leave to cool, then turn out on to a serving plate and peel off the parchment. Toast the flaked almonds in a frying pan for 4-5 minutes, tossing a few times until golden brown. Scatter the cake with the toasted almonds and dust with the icing sugar. Serve in slices with the ice-cream or gelato. Shop the ingredients for this recipe on and discover how Tesco Finest can make your everyday taste better
The Guardian
5 days ago
- The Guardian
Turn a glut of courgettes into a moreish crunchy snack for pizza night
Anyone who has ever grown courgettes will know that, come peak season, you have to get inventive with the abundance and come up with new ways to use them before they turn to marrows or perish and melt back into the soil. One fabulous way to cook up a glut is scarpaccia, an Italian classic that's similar to farinata and a distant cousin of pizza. Thinly sliced courgettes are degorged by tossing them in sea salt to extract their juices, then, true to Italian thrift, the flavourful liquid is used to make a batter that's then reunited with the courgettes before baking into a thin, crisp slice. Zucchini or courgettes are a type of summer squash that grows so prolifically that even the most amateur horticulturist, such as myself, is often inundated with a cash crop of long green gourds. The leaves, stems and flowers are all edible (the greenery can be used like any other leafy green – it's wonderful simply sauteed with garlic, lemon and nutmeg). Those who don't have the luxury of growing their own still benefit from the seasonal abundance, however, because the price of courgettes drops to much more affordable levels, even at the most affluent of farmers' markets. When I was growing up in Dorset, I remember seeing baskets of the things on garden walls, just left out in return for a donation of a few pennies. 500g courgettes, topped and washed 500g new potatoes, washed Sea salt 1 white or red onion, peeled and thinly sliced3 sprigs fresh rosemary, or thyme or oregano, leaves picked150g wholemeal flour – wheat, spelt or plain white50g polenta, or semolina or breadcrumbs, plus extra to finishOlive oil Finely slice 100g each of the courgettes and potatoes and set aside. Grate the rest into a colander set over a bowl, add two teaspoons of sea salt and toss to coat. Place a plate and a weight directly on top of the courgettes and potatoes, and leave to degorge for an hour. Working with a handful at a time, squeeze the courgette and potato mix over the bowl, to collect their juices, then measure out 120ml of the liquid (if need be, top up with water). In a bowl, mix the sliced onion, herb leaves, flour (and polenta, then stir in the 120ml reserved juice and mix to the consistency of thick cake batter; add more liquid or flour as required. Line a large baking tray with unbleached baking paper and brush with olive oil. Spread the batter over the paper so it's about 5mm thick, then arrange the sliced vegetables on top in neat alternating rows. Drizzle with more olive oil, sprinkle with a little polenta and a pinch of sea salt, then bake in a 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 oven for 45-55 minutes, until golden, crisp and charred in places.
