The odd one out

Maybe its a sign of my age, or maybe its a sign that I really should get out more but I have developed a slight obsession for the local fruit and veg store. So imagine my excitement when a friend invited me to peruse her new local grocers in Newington Green. My eyes widened with delight when I spotted trays upon trays of fresh fruit and veg, little gleaming gems of all colours, shapes and sizes. Buying fruit and veg in a local green grocers always trumps the supermarket. There's something homely and rustic about it. Not only is it a one-stop shop for local and seasonal produce, they're a treasure chest brimming with rare and wonderful goodies that your bog standard supermarket is unlikely to stock. Avoiding all the things I haven't the foggiest how to cook, and deciding that I couldn't be bothered to faff around with salsify, I decided upon a beautifully plump round courgette. This isn't the only thing I bought but I don't think onions would excite you much. I resisted the lazy urge to simply chop it up and bung it in pasta and made novel use of its roundness, see:

If you fancy trying it, here's what you do:Cut in half and scoop out as much of the flesh as you can without breaking the shell and set asideBash a garlic clove or 2, keeping the skin on and pop it in the shell along with a glug of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of sea salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and put into a preheated oven (around 200) for about 20mins.While that's cooking make the basis of a basic tomato pasta sauce - red onions, crushed garlic and add the fluffy flesh of the courgette. You can stir in a tin of chopped tomatoes but why not add a spoonful of pesto or my personal favourite - Sacla Tomato & Olive stir through sauce. I also chucked in a few jarred artichokes - another grocery find and much cheaper than the ones you can buy in the supermarket.

Leave your sauce to gently simmer and cook up some orzo (rather small, rice-like pasta). You could of course  use any pasta but there's something novel about Orzo that makes this dish kinda special.

When the Orzo is cooked, drain and stir it through the tomato sauce and pour the filling into the courgette shells. Top with a sprinkling of cheese and pop under the grill until slightly golden. Alternatively, treat this like a soup and serve with cheese toast squares.

Nicole x