Courgette (Zucchini) Gratin ... a reduced carb dish

Courgette / zucchini  is such a versatile vegetable. Courgettes can make a decent meal of any store cupboard ingredient. They can be dressed up in a creamy lemon sauce and served with pasta (or low carb pasta swap), grated and added to a quiche, or served as crisp fritters. In fact, recipes for courgettes come in as many shapes and sizes as the squash itself; varieties of this summer vegetable can range from small and flying-saucer shaped, to dark-green and tennis ball-sized, to long and yellow. Give courgettes a go, but remember, the smaller they are, the more flavour and if you don't pick them early enough they grow into marrows.

This simple gratin makes a great side dish as it’s creamy and flavoursome without being too rich - why not serve with a salad for a light supper! 

Ingredients

Serves Four

2 tbsp. olive oil
800g/1lb 12oz courgettes, sliced into 5mm/¼in rounds
few sprigs thyme
few basil leaves
100ml/3½fl oz. crème fraîche
50ml/2fl oz. milk
1 tsp plain flour
75g/2½oz gruyère or similar cheese, grated

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6
2. Put the olive oil in a large, lidded frying pan. Add the courgettes and herbs and season with salt and pepper.
3. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring every so often, until the courgettes have softened slightly but are still al dente. The oil should have taken on a deep, rich green colour from the courgettes.
4. Transfer to an oven dish. Whisk the crème fraîche, milk and flour together in a bowl and season with salt. Pour this mixture over the courgettes – it will not be enough to completely cover the courgettes, but this is fine – it will bubble up when cooking.

5. Sprinkle over the cheese. Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes, or until brown and bubbling. 

Recipe from here

If you’re already living the LCHF lifestyle, you will know that courgettes (zucchini) are low in carbs, just 2g. carb per 100g, and they are probably high up on your must buy shopping (or growing) list. They may not pack the nutritional punch of other green vegetables (broccoli, kale etc.) but they do contain significant levels of potassium to control blood pressure and vitamin C to boost your immune system. 

The courgette’s thin dark skin is high in soluble fibre, which slows digestion and stabilises blood sugar levels – potentially getting rid of those pesky mid-afternoon sweet cravings. Soluble fibre can also prevent constipation and help with those horrible IBS symptoms so many of us endure. 

You can buy courgettes from most big supermarkets as well as small farmers markets (when in season). Many prefer to buy locally sourced courgettes as supermarkets can of course ship vegetables thousands of miles despite them being in season a few minutes down the road, but how and where you buy is always a personal choice. 

Courgettes / Zucchini ... they are on my shopping list! 

We bring a variety of recipe ideas and articles to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan