Courgette abundance

15th July 2025

Sweet and savoury seasonal recipes from Barbara Wilkinson, Chair of the Herb Society

The summer is all about abundance and often we find we have a glut, a little more than we anticipated, which is nice, but it means we need to be creative in the kitchen. Carrot cake is now very popular, but we can use other vegetables in cakes, as this easy courgette cake shows, it may sound bizarre but give it a try.

Courgette Cake

Dry ingredients

225g/8oz caster sugar 100g/4oz light muscovado sugar 350g/12oz spelt flour 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cloves

Wet ingredients

220g/7oz butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 3 eggs 225g/8oz grated courgettes 200g/7oz raisins 100g/4oz chopped walnuts 1 tbsp grated orange rind

Method

1. Blend all eight dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Rub in the butter
3. Add vanilla extract, and eggs, blend well.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients.
5. Pour into a lined tin 33x23cm or 13×9 inch
6. Bake at gas mark 4, 170C if fan assisted, 180C otherwise, until slightly risen, for approximately 45-50 minutes.
7. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.

Substitutions

• Some prefer to use oil in cakes and substitute for vegan ingredients
• The orange can be omitted, and other dried fruits and nuts used.

A recipe is a guide, we can be flexible and creative.

Courgette Pasta

Courgette Pasta is a favourite easy dish with all the flavours of summer. If we have yellow and green courgettes the appearance is even better but the flavours will be the same if only green is used.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil 2 shallots or 1 onion, finely diced 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed 15g fresh oregano 3 courgettes, thinly sliced 225g Pasta of your choice 100g feta cheese 15g torn basil leaves Black Pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, add onion to soften, then add garlic and oregano
2. Add courgettes to the onion mix, and allow to cook, stirring occasionally.
3. Cook the pasta in boiling water.
4. when the pasta is cooked, add a little of the water to the courgette mix.
5. Add crumbled Feta which is salty, add pepper, combine all with the pasta.
6. Add the zest of half a lemon + 1 tbsp juice + basil.
7. Serve and enjoy the flavours of summer.