Nutty stuffed roast courgettes

This simple recipe is one of the many ways I’ve been using up the glut of courgettes we’ve had in the last month from Mr & Mrs B’s allotment – which I happily had the honour of looking after for a few weeks! Needless to say my name is now down on the waiting list and hopefully it won’t be too long until I’m getting stuck into growing my own fruit and vegetables, I literally can’t wait! Until then I’ll just have to make do with cooking and eating them.

Nutty stuffed roast courgettes
Makes 4 stuffed courgette halves

3 medium large courgettes, between 20cm and 30cm in length
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic
75g fresh brown breadcrumbs
50g finely chopped nuts and seeds
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan
1 tablespoon of mixed chopped herbs
Fresh herbs or salad leaves to garnish

Oven 200°C

Slice two of the courgettes lengthways and place skin side down on a baking tray. Score the surface of the flesh facing upwards using a small sharp knife in a criss-cross pattern, then drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out.

Whilst the courgettes are cooking chop the onion and garlic finely, place in a pan with a little olive oil and sauté gently for 10 minutes until they have begun to soften. Chop the remaining one courgette into small dice and add to the pan and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

Add the breadcrumbs, chopped nuts and seeds, Parmesan and fresh herbs (I used thyme, sage and basil) to the pan and combine then remove from the heat.

One you remove the roasting courgettes from the oven leave them to cool a little then scoop out the soft flesh leaving the skin and a little of the flesh in tact. Finely chop the cooked courgette flesh and add to the breadcrumb mix in the pan. Mix well then spoon the breadcrumb mix back into the courgettes skins until nicely full. Bake for a further 20 minutes until the stuffing is golden and crispy on top.

The stuffed courgettes can be served warm or at room temperature, and make a good accompaniment to sausages or roast meats, or with a simple salad.