Courgette & Chard Bake

Courgette & Chard Bake

A Lasagne this is not

With courgette season in full swing it can be hard to keep up with the prolific production from just a single plant! This recipe brings a little comforting warmth as well as another avenue to enjoy the glut.

Paired with pasta the mind drifts to Lasagne, while the finished dish certainly holds a resemblance, the freshness and quick cook sets this apart. The key to this dish is to keep the vegetables crunchy, retaining a little freshness keeps it light, perfect for a cool summer meal.

The cheese can be as strong or mild as your taste.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
3 courgettes
300g +/- chard
Rapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1 pinch dried chilli flakes
250g ricotta or soft goats cheese
80g mature hard cheese
1 egg
3 fresh onion tops or spring onions
6 sprigs of fresh herbs such as dill or parsley
6 sheets of dried pasta sheets or 200g quantity of home made
Nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Preheat an oven to 160°C

1. Prepare the courgettes by topping and tailing, then slicing along their length to the thickness of a £1 coin. In a wide frying pan over a medium high heat, lightly brown the courgette slices in a sparing drizzle of rapeseed oil. Keep the vibrant green colour and slight crunch by only cooking for a minute each side then remove from the pan and set aside. Cook the courgette slices in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, reducing the temperature.

2. While the courgette is cooking, wash and finely slice the chard. 

3. Once all the courgette slices are cooked, and in the same frying pan over a medium high heat, warm a small puddle of rapeseed oil and lightly fry the sliced garlic until the edges begin to turn colour. This give a delightful nutty sweetness, but take care not to burn. Add the chilli flakes and fennel seeds, giving time to temper and release a pleasant aroma. Add the chard and cook for a few minutes until the stems are tender, but not soft.

4. Set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool slightly before combining with the cheeses, egg, onion and herbs. Season with salt pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. A three finger pinch of salt, a few twists of the pepper mill and a quarter of a whole nutmeg should do it.

5. In a large pan of boiling water, with a lid, cook the pasta then drain and rinse with cold water to remove any remaining starch. For dried pasta follow the instructions on the packet. For home made pasta, roll to number 6 and cook until the sheets float to the surface of the boiling water.

6. In a deep oven proof dish approximately 20 x 30 cm, lightly oil the base and layer with pasta, courgette, cheese and chard filling. Repeat this three times, finishing with the cheese filling. Top with a little extra chard cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes to set the filling. Look for a uniform wobble and light browning around the edges.


Serve with a fresh salad or beans tossed in a little pesto.
Chef Notes:
1. The beauty of this recipe is its versatility. Substitute the chard for spinach or even a combination of tops and leaves from other vegetables.
2. Combining soft mild cheese with strong hard cheese brings a salty balance, so experiment with using contrasting textures and flavours. 

Robin Popham
Chef at ‘Create Terroir’ and Sandy Lane Farm veg box customer