Beetroots, Beans and Courgettes

Well, I had been hoping for a title of 3 x C’s [ courgettes, cucumbers and cauliflowers] but, although my cucumbers have exceeded my expectations – so, more in my next blog – this blog is about those late summer and into autumn crops.

Beetroots, this year, have been brilliant. I sowed the seed in small pots in my poly-tunnel then transplanted out in late April – no thinning necessary and I have had a great crop of medium to large roots. It has to be said that the roots systems of these plants has been shallow – perhaps this system of planting and growing would not have been so successful in a dryer year. But, do I need long roots which could break in harvesting and allow the roots to ‘bleed’ during cooking? More experiments next year.

Now what do I do with all of these vegetables? For me, I have always steamed or boiled them, then pickled – of course, as a vegetable, they should not be ignored though the cooking time somewhat puts me off -2 - 3 hours boiling or steaming or 30 minutes in a pressure cooker.

Of course there are other ways of cooking beetroot. One of the wonderful aspects of having children who are also interested in food - growing and cooking is that they now give me recipes, ideas and methods of cooking vegetables I would never have dreamed of. My younger daughter tells me that she roasts her beetroot before using in dishes like soup or casseroles – she thinks it develops the flavour better than just steaming or boiling. She allows 2 – 3 hours in a low oven depending on the size of the roots. Of course, you could make more of this process and wash, trim, peel and cut the roots into wedges. Add similar sized carrots, garlic and potatoes to a medium roasting tin. Sprinkle generously with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper and roast in a medium oven for 50 to 60 mins – brilliant!

Well beans! What can I say this year? Although my broad beans, both autumn and spring sown were good – not brilliant but acceptable. I’ve had several goes at trying to establish the different types I’ve been used to growing successfully. At last, my runner beans [Moonlight from Dobies – chitted in late April] have started to produce harvestable bean pods. This was not the fault of the beans though might have been my fault as I chatted them and was unable to plant out due to the very dry conditions – the ground was like rock. I guess I could have potted them on but, had too many other plants to deal with- they were not my priority in my limited space. Some of my allotment neighbours have been harvesting runner beans for a couple of weeks now.

My Purple Teepee French beans, normally so very productive, have been slow, but then again, they have been eaten off by both slugs and pigeons and only a second sowing in pots in my polytunnel, then planted out under netting has eventually started to provide me with a crop.

I don’t think we should measure the potential for this vegetable on this season’s results. This is an unusual year. As one of my neighbours said – a gardener in his eighties who has seen many years, both good and bad - these are the kind of conditions which we must accept. I have never seen a year like this before.

Courgettes – well! it has taken me several goes this year to establish three productive courgette plants. Many of my seeds failed to germinate. Some of those failed to grow on successfully and, of those which ‘stayed the course’, I now have three plants producing more fruits than I can cope with. My plants are Orelia F1 from Dobies. As I have said in a previous blog, I am not a big fan of the Zucchini type of courgette. I find them wet and tasteless. However, these wonderful plants, my Orelia, are slower growing and produce beautiful, golden, dry courgettes which don’t gallop towards huge tasteless and wet marrows overnight. The Orelia can be used in so many dishes – add as a vegetable to curries; as an onion and courgette quiche [try with a blue cheese topping – my favourite is with Blue Stilton]; use with chicken in a cheesy sauce with pasta – add lots of garlic, lemon thyme and marjoram. I love envelopes of sliced vegetables, especially courgettes or squashes, with chicken breast or thigh joints – add a little fruit if you have it – a sliced apple or peach though do experiment with more exotic fruits. Allow a generous seasoning and wrap up in tin foil or greaseproof paper –then bake for 1 hour in a medium oven.

But do try this recipe – my elder daughter thinks this is so tasty:

Aine’s Courgette and Potato Pie

Ingredients:
500-750g courgettes – green or gold
4 large potatoes
1  onion, sliced or diced

2 eggs
250g grated cheddar cheese – or similar cheese which will melt during cooking
1 Tblsp olive oil
a sprig of  lemon thyme

1 portion of puff, flaky or rough puff pastry [use frozen or make your own]
seasoning to taste

Method

·         Grate the courgettes (no need to peel) and then pat dry to remove excess water, especially if you are using green courgettes.

·         Peal and then grate the potatoes. Combine the courgettes, potatoes, onions, herbs, eggs, cheese with some salt and pepper in a large bowl and ensure thoroughly mixed.

• Again drain off any excess water – allow a little water for the potatoes to cook.
• Grease a pie dish and place the mixture in the dish.
• Roll out the pastry and place over the top, trim off any excess.
• Bake for 50mins-1hour in  a moderately hot oven until the pastry is golden.
• Serve.  Great with a crisp salad with a sharp lemony dressing.