Torta di Zucchini or Zucchine or even Courgette Tart

Why both names? Well in Italy, depending on the region it could be either. To the uninitiated in the realms of Italian words, a courgette.

This pie comes from a little book that I bought a couple of years ago and it is full of regional recipes and this one became a firm favourite this year as we had out usual glut of zucchini and we were on the look out for any recipes containing zucchini.

You will need:

Make the filling first.

1kg of grated zucchini. I used one large zucchini. This works better than several small ones as you really need the moisture that is contained in a large fruit.

200g of uncooked rice. Do not be tempted to use cooked

3 eggs

100g of freshly grated parmisan

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients up in a bowl and then get on with the pastry.

Pastry:

300g plain flour

50g butter
1 tsp salt
tepid water

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add enough tepid water to make a smooth dough and then roll out 2/3 of the dough straight away to line a tin about 40cm x 20cm. This does not need to be exact. Leave an overlap all around the tin so that you can flip it over the center .

Fill the pastry with the filling. It will be very liquid. Use it all. Do not strain out any of the liquid.

Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the top of the mixture. Flip the pastry over the center piece and put into a hot oven about C190 for about 45 mins. It should be lovely and brown on top and perfectly cooked underneath. If it is not leave in the oven for a few more minutes.

Enjoy!

Late Summer Vegetable Bake

The next dish that I've made is one that is really useful when you get a glut of zucchini(courgette) and aubergines. Now I know that aubergines are not usually plentiful in British gardens but zucchini are so buy the other items from the supermarket.

You will need:

1 aubergine

3 or 4 tomatoes. It depends on the size of your tomatoes.

1 onion, sliced

Parmesan cheese

2 courgettes

Olive oil for frying the onions.

The first thing that I want to say is that I am not over fond of frying aubergines as I think that they soak up so much oil that the pleasure of eating them in lost in a sea of grease. What I do is slice the aubergines and put them on a microwaveable plate. Cover with cling film and cook until soft. The time that this takes will depend on the power of your microwave. Leave them aside until ready. Do the same with the zucchini.

Fry the onion until soft.

Skin and slice the tomatoes.

Make up the dish by putting layers of alternating vegetables in an oiled, oven proof dish . Cover with a layer of Parmesan cheese and bake in a hot oven for about 30 mins. Most of the vegetables have been pre-cooked so it does not take too long. It should be brown and bubbling like the photograph.

Serve as an accompaniment for grilled meat.