Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

ZUCCHINI, ZUCCHINI, ZUCCHINI!

Or is that COURGETTE, COURGETTE, COURGETTE!

Did you know that when a recipe asks for courgette they actually mean zucchini?

Often recipes are from other countries and list courgette, but in Australia we refer to them as zucchini.

What more can I say. We have had an absolutely bountiful harvest of zucchinis this season and as a result the students have been trying different recipes to use them.  Last week was pizza, this week we made a delicious Zucchini and  Herb Frittata. Kilograms have been grated and frozen for use throughout winter when our crops are sometimes a little lean.

I have also been busily searching for ways to preserve them for further use in the kitchen and to sell at our Mud Brick Café. Have you ever thought of trying zucchini in a jam? I have discovered a Zucchini Marmalade that is sweet and tasty on toast. I have also made lots of jars of Zucchini Pickle. Mrs Aitken tells me this is delightful with Roast Lamb. (She was my official taste tester).

The children in Grade 5/6 also made a warm Couscous Salad to have with their Frittata.

It was surprising how many students had not tried couscous before. Some were amazed  at how easy it was to make and how tasty it was.

Last week we made a very easy flat bread that only used 2 ingredients to accompany a subtle Potato and Silver Beet Curry. We had great discussions about how not all curries are hot and that a good curry actually is created with a collection of aromatic herbs and spices that are fried to release their flavours. Many students that had tried curries and said they didn’t like them because they are hot  actually found they enjoyed the flavours of our curry.

They commented on how it had no heat  to the palate, but a gentle taste of a combination of flavours.

Both weeks recipes are attached.

Please catch me if you too have had a bountiful harvest and are looking for some different ways to use them. I can always provide you with our recipes  from both classes and our preserving behind the scenes.

The children in Grade1/2 Wells  made Magical Rainbow Rice Paper Wraps in their last session.

The rice noodles were died pink using  beetroots from our garden to colour the water before soaking them.

We put mango, capsicum lettuce and of course our “pink” noodles inside our wraps.

The children commented on how rice paper went really sticky and made them hard to wrap. Lots of students had never tried rice paper rolls before and the responses we quite varied. Some children found them “awesome” ( to use their words) while others described them as disgusting. One student even said that he thought “They would be yucky, but they were delicious”.

We continue to offer the students a safe environment to try new food, sometimes with surprising outcomes.

Sue O’Mealley

Kitchen Specialist

Recipes