Courgette En Fleur

Courgette En Fleur

Being of the school that believes a courgette should never be grown to beyond 10cm Wild Country Organics’ ‘courgette en fleur’ (baby courgettes with their flower attached) is, to me, perfection.  On Sundays throughout July and August Adrian Izzard’s Wild Organics stall at Cambridge Farmers market, nestled amongst their other summer jewels, have bags of these delicate, delightful summer treats.  They take seconds to prepare, and moments to cook. The taste of the salty, slightly caramelised, flavour of the flower with the just cooked freshness of the fruit is spectacular.  They are best cooked and eaten on the day you buy.

 

Pre heat oven to its highest temperature (about 250C).

 

Lay the courgette en fleur gently onto a flat baking tray. They need a little space so don’t crowd them.  Drizzle with your everyday extra virgin olive oil, and massage it over the courgettes completely coating the fruit and flower, and then sprinkle with Malden sea salt.

 

Put the baking tray in the upper part of the oven. My oven cooks them to perfection in 8 minutes; though I do turn the tray for even cooking after 5 minutes.  They are ready when the fruit just begins to soften but still has a little resistance and the flower is caramelised at the tip.

 

Eat the courgettes while they are still hot. I don’t worry about cutlery with these little treats as they usually come with their own little handle: the stubby remains of the stem.  Put the entire flower and as much of the courgette in your mouth as you can for the first mouthful, that way you get sweet, salt and fresh all in one: delicious!

I have to be honest, last year I was satisfied with 1 pack of 4 for my Sunday snack, but this year I am up to 2 packs per sitting. Ooops!

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