Читать книгу Marcus Everyday: Easy Family Food for Every Kind of Day - Marcus Wareing - Страница 10

Crispy Courgettes with Goats’ Cheese and Lavender Honey

Courgettes seem to grow in abundance in my garden, especially in prolonged heat, like we had in summer 2018, when I ended up with quite a few marrows as I didn’t pick them soon enough. I enjoy using the plants’ flowers too, which I stuff with this goats’ cheese mix, coat in batter and fry.

SERVES: 4 AS A STARTER OR SNACK | PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES, PLUS OVERNIGHT INFUSING | COOKING TIME: 25 MINUTES

200g soft goats’ cheese

1 tbsp finely chopped marjoram or oregano

grated zest of ½ lemon

4 courgettes, cut into 5mm-thick rounds

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE LAVENDER HONEY

6 tbsp runny honey

2 heads of lavender flowers

FOR THE TEMPURA BATTER

100g cornflour

100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

generous pinch of salt

130–140ml soda water

1 The day before you want to make and serve the dish, place the honey in a small clean jar. Break up the lavender flowers and add them to the honey. Cover and leave in a warm place to infuse.

2 Put the goats’ cheese, marjoram or oregano, lemon zest and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a small food processor and blitz (or put them in a bowl and use a stick blender) until semi smooth.

3 To make the tempura batter, mix the cornflour and flour together in a bowl with the salt. Gradually whisk in enough of the soda water to make a thick batter.

4 Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep saucepan or deep-fat fryer to come up to about 5cm and place over medium heat. If using a deep-fat fryer or if you have a thermometer, heat the oil to 170°C. If not, to check the oil is at the right temperature, drop a 2–3cm cube of bread into the hot oil – it should turn golden and crisp in 1 minute.

5 Season the courgette slices with salt then dust them with flour. One by one, dip them in the tempura batter and, straight away, carefully place them in the hot oil. Fry in batches for 3–4 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, shake off any excess oil and transfer to kitchen paper. Season again with salt while they are hot.

6 Place the fried courgettes on a large serving plate and dollop the goats’ cheese on top, then drizzle with the lavender honey. Serve immediately, while they are hot and crispy!

MARCUS’ TIP:

If goats’ cheese is not to your liking, soft cream cheese works well, or mild Cheddar grated and mixed with a little mascarpone.