All is good on the meatball front. I am able to produce a well-seasoned meatball that is soft on the tooth and holds together well when poached in tomato sauce.
When cooked in the oven they tend to flatten on the bottom, form a crust and dry out a bit. I could try a more sophisticated approach to this, but as I like them poached in the sauce I may just stop cooking them in the oven.
I tried frying one batch. It was a soft mix and probably not well-suited to the method. As you don’t actually need to brown them before poaching I’m going to avoid the frying pan in future.
After an unsatisfactory encounter with Boodles – spiralised butternut squash noodles – I’m glad to report that the courgetti spaghetti was far better in both taste and texture. The problem, apart from the cost (£1 for a small portion) is that they release a lot of water, which doesn’t look great on the plate.
I can’t immediately think of a way round this, though I will try dropping the lot into hot oil next time, not heating it gradually. I will also look at a selection of dishes where the extra water won’t be a problem.
Does anyone have an answer to this problem?
Next stop, bean burgers.
Suggestions: forget about replicating spaghetti and just replace the pasta with courgettes cooked in a way more sympathetic to courgettes? I like them cut into rounds and fried with lots of cinnamon, then add some wine vinegar near the end, (but don’t get too close at this stage as getting the steam off the vinegar in your eyes is not a good idea). I imagine the interweb has a million and one ideas for how to cook courgettes. Or you could go old school and buy something like Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. (Well worth a read, although she’s surprisingly disparaging about some veg.)
The vinegar also makes me cough. Yes, I really ought to get rid of the idea of replicating pasta.
I just bought the River Cottage veg book for inspiration – £1.99 from Oxfam.
That sounds the ticket. I have HFW’s Veg Book which is pretty good. (Although not as good as Three Good Things which I really like). Incidentally, is there a Japanese word for Cookery Books from which you never use any recipes?
I don’t know about a Japanese word, but I do know that many of them turn up in mint condition for £1.99 at a local Oxfam shop. Sad, but economical. 😉
Try dropping them into cold water to ‘shock’ them once cooked. Heat them through then gently in a non stick pan.
It works with pasta
Thanks Marcus – I’ll give it a try next week. 🙂
I don’t have an answer. Looking forward to reading about bean burgers. Will you be using the Mark Bittman recipe?
I’m going to base tonight’s bean burgers on his recipe but using the ingredients I already have. After that I will try to be more faithful to the recipes.
He would approve! He’s not a stick to the recipes kind of guy.
Just realised it will have to be tomorrow – we have pork mince to use up from last night. Yes, on re-reading the recipe I noticed quite a lot of leeway. 🙂
Loking forward to trying it.
Lots of leeway is right! Look forward to reading about it whenever you get around to making them. Any chance of pictures?
It’s about time I did a bit more food blogging. I’ll have to eat before I cook so I don’t eat them before I remember to take the photos. 🙂
Decant onto kitchen roll before serving?
Yes, I may have to try that.
Clare’s link looks pretty good!
It’s the best one I’ve seen so far. It seems like a good way of getting more veg and fewer calories.
I haven’t tried them yet and was waiting to find out from someone else the best way of cooking them! The Good Food Magazine suggests boiling for 20 secs or stir-frying. Eating raw is another option. They also suggest mixing them into the sauce immediately after cooking them. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/spiralising-how-get-best-results
Interesting link – thanks. 🙂
🙂
Sadly I have no answer.
Looks like I’ll be eating a lot more courgetti…
…sigh…