Student Recipes: Courgette Boats

Courgette Boats

I think that the courgette crisis of 2017 will be remembered as a terrible omen for the bad things that I see on the horizon – Brexit, Trump, the impending Mexican wall, do I have to name them all? – but now that this, at least, is behind us, I can make more courgette boats. I actually had no idea where they were grown, and it’s interesting to realise just how far some of our favourite food gets shipped. Even the local grocers managed to source some during the shortage, showing just how demanding our society is; we’re not going to die without them, so we can wait! They are sometimes called summer squash and we should try to eat seasonably where possible; so, now that it’s getting a bit warmer, I think it’s a good time to share this recipe.

Courgette boats are so versatile because you can fill them with whatever you like. I have chosen to do a pizza version and one with rice but there are loads of other things you could use – curry, meat / substitute, more vegetables etc. I just have one favour to ask you – please do not throw away the middle after you have scooped it out! I can’t deal with food waste. My mum recently sent me a video about The Real Food Waste Project because she knows how riled up I get about it. They are an organisation who intercept food before it gets thrown away, whether from supermarkets or even food banks who can no longer distribute the food because it’s passed its sell by date. Often people rely too much on expiration dates rather than using their instincts to tell whether something is okay to eat; I never even look at them and I’ve never got food poisoning. One of my friends is particularly bad for it: I came home from uni to find half a tray of vegan brownies in the bin. It physically hurt. Not only because they were delicious vegan brownies but also because there was absolutely nothing wrong with them! And this is not the first situation of this kind. So please don’t throw your courgette boat leftovers in the bin because I will cry.

Anyway, onto the recipe…

Cost: £9.19 as purchased, ~£1.25 as served

Servings

1

Prep Time

5

Cook Time

10

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp tomato puree For the pizza boat
• 1 tsp sweetcorn For the pizza boat
• 1 slice red onion For the pizza boat
• 1 strip green pepper For the pizza boat
• 0.5 mushroom For the pizza boat
• 1 tsp pine nuts For the pizza boat
• 10 g rice For the rice boat
• 1 tsp curry paste For the rice boat
• 0.5 mushroom For the rice boat
• 1 tsp sweetcorn For the rice boat
• 1 strip green pepper For the rice boat
• 1 strip red pepper For the rice boat

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cut the stem off and slice the courgette in half.

3. Use a spoon to scoop out the soft insides, leaving approximately 1cm around the edges.

   

4. For the pizza boat:

   1. Spread the tomato puree in the middle.
   2. Chop the ingredients and sprinkle on top.

   For the rice boat:

   1. Boil the rice and drain.
   2. Chop the ingredients and add.
   3. Add the curry paste and combine.
   4. Place into the courgette.
   

5. Bake for 10 minutes.