Recipes of the gardener

COURGETTE GRATIN WITH RICE The courgette is prodigious in the vegetable garden and it needs original recipes to show it's worth. Here is a gratin of courgettes with rice and bacon, it makes a compete meal when served with a green salad. It is possible to replace the bacon with minced meat. It is better for this recipe to choose small courgettes, there is nothing quite like them ! Ingredients for 4 people :
	4 courgettes sliced 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 onion 200 g f smoked bacon cut into pieces 1 cup of rice plus 3 cups of water 1 eggf 1 tomato Grated emmental or parmesan cheese salt, pepper, paprika, basil
Slice the onion and fry in olive oil over a low heat until it becomes transparent. Add the sliced courgettes and the diced bacon. Peel and cut the tomato into pieces, add to the onion and courgettes. Add salt and peper according to your taste. Add the rice and the water. Stir from time to time until the rice is cooked. Bind the mixture with the egg. Place the mixture in a dish and cover with the grated cheese. Place the dish under a grill until it is golden, serve hot.

GOURD AND COCONUT CAKE This original recipe is always a success. Mixing gourds and coconut to make a cake seems suprising but the result will please the most discerning palate. This recipe is possible with all the cucurbitaceaes including the courgette. It will be necessary however to adjust the quantities of flour and sugar depending on your gourd. Ingredients for 8 people :
	1 or 2 gourds depending on their size 200 g of grated coconut 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt 200 to 300 g of powdered sugar 1 or 2 sachets of vanilla sugar 1 to 2 dessert spoons of flour or cornflour
Choose for preference gourds that have a firm skin, these have less water content. Cut in half remove their pips and discard, remove the flesh with a spoon. Mix the flesh in a bowl with the other ingredients.Adapt the quantities of flour and sugar according to your gourds. Place the mixture into a tart tin, put in a pre-heated oven at 180° for around 40 to 45 minutes until golden. Serve hot or cold according to your taste.

CUCUMBER RAITA Here is an Indian recipe which will give your guests pleasure. Obviously not everyone can tolerate strong peppers. The ideal is to make two raitas, one with a hot pepper and the other with a milder red pepper around 0 on The Scoville scale. (see my pages on peppers). The true recipe is with fresh coriander, but I have found that fresh mint works quite well ! Ingredients for 4 people :
	2 or 3 cucumbers depending on their size 3 pots of natural yoghurt 1 strong pepper or 1/2 milder bell pepper coriander (or mint) , paprika, salt and pepper
Wash and finely slice the cucumbers without peeling. Wash the pepper and chop finely after discarding the seeds. Chop the coriander or mint leaves. Reserve a few leaves of mint and some pepper for decoration. Put the yoghurts in a bowl and beat with a fork. Starting with the cucumber mix all the ingredients into the yoghurt. Sprinkle with paprika, decorate with mint leaves and some pepper and place in a fridge. Serve very cold.

PUMPKIN TART Here is an original recipe using pumpkins. It can also be made using red kuri squash or other cucurbitaceaes ! A little advice: Make your own short-crust pastry, it's not hard to do and is infinatly better than shop bought ! Ingredients for 4 people :
	500 g of pumpkin or red kuri squash 1 Shortcrust pastry 25 cl of milk 100 g of powdered sugar 25 g of butter 3 egg yolks 1 sachet of vanilla sugar 50 g powdered almonds
Line a tart tin with the pastry and cook blind in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. During this time cook the pumpkin in the milk with the butter until tender. Beat the 3 egg yolks, add the sugar, vanilla sugar and the powdered almonds. Mash the pumpkin with a fork and add to the egg mix, stir well. Place the pumpkin mix into the pastry lined tin and place in the oven for around 30 minutes. Serve cold.

SEA BREAM AND PATTYPAN SQUASH FRITTERS Here is an original recipe invited by myself ! This recipe can be made with another fish like Cod for example and the squash can be replaced by another gourd or even potatoes ! Ingredients for 4 people :
	1 pattypan squash 2 fillets of sea bream 1 large onion chopped 1 garlic clove choped, chopped parsley, chopped chives 2 eggs beaten 50 g of cornflour and potato starch mixed Salt, pepper, paprika, chili pepper Fresh coriander leaves and 1 lemon (optional)
Peel and grate the pattypan squash and press it in a fine sieve to extract the maximum of water. Flake the fish and mix with the chopped garlic, onion, parsley and chives. Mix in the beaten eggs and the cornflour and potato starch. Season according to your taste with salt, pepper, paprika and chili pepper. Form into several “patties” and fry in a pan until golden brown on both sides. Serve with fresh coriander leaves and lemon slices. A green salad goes well with this dish.

LEEK QUICHE Here is a recipe using young garden leeks. It's important to make your own short crust pastry, it takes a little time but is worth it ! It is better to let the pastry 'rest' in the fridges several hours before using. Think in advance then for this recipe. For a complete meal replace the bacon with fresh salmon ! Ingredients for 6 to; 8 people :
	1 Kilo young leeks Shortcrust pastry 150 g of smoked bacon chopped 2 eggs 50 g de fresh cream Salt pepper, paprika Olive oil A Green salad
Wash the leeks, trim and cut into small rounds and cook in a little olive oil over a low heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook for a few minutes, remove from the heat and leave to cool. Roll out the pastry and line a tart tin. Spread the leeks and bacon over the pastry. Beat the eggs and cream together and add the salt, pepper and paprika according to taste. Pour the egg mix over the leeks and bacon. Place in a pre-heated oven at 180° for around 40 minutes Serve warm with a green salad

RED FRUITS IN BATTER When the small red fruits arrive in the garden it's in quantity. What to do with all the redcurrants, blackcurrants, raspberries, gooseberries... Here is a classic recipe which is quick, easy and also goes well with cherries and all the other red berry fruits. Ingredients for 6 to 8 people :
	500 g of red fruits 4 eggs 250 g powdered sugar 1 sachet of vanilla sugar 100 g of flour 100 g of butter 25 cl of milk Icing sugar (optional)
Break the eggs into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and beat well. Add the sugar and vanilla sugar and beat with a fork. Incorporate the flour by carefully mixing in with a wooden spoon. Melt 60 g of butter over a low heat and add to the mix. Mix in the milk to obtain a smooth batter. Use the rest of the butter to grease an oven-proof dish. Wash the red fruits and scatter them in the dish. Cover the fruits with the batter mix and place in a pre-heated oven at 200° for approx 45 mins. (optional) before serving warm or cold.

UPSIDE DOWN APPLE CAKE The apple is the most popular fruit in the orchard. . Ingredients for 6 to 8 people :
	1,5 kg of apples 4 eggs 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar 1 sachet of vanilla sugar 4 tablespoons of cornflour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 25 cl of milk 10 cl of thick cream Butter for the tin
Break the eggs into a bowl and beat. Mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla sugar, cornflour and oil. Add the milk and cream to the mix and beat with a fork. Butter the tin. Peel and cut the apples into small pieces. Place the apple pieces on the bottom of the tin and pour the mix over them. Place in a pre-heated hot oven for about 40 minutes. Place a serving plate over the tin, carefully turn the tin and 'tap out' the cake.

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