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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

On Buying Courgettes From Sainsbury's

I don't actually like courgettes, so quite why I grew squillions of them last summer is anyone's guess. But occasionally I do cook with them; usually roasted off in a pan with peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and quartered red onions, drizzled with Carapelli olive oil, Maldon and a grind or two of mixed peppercorns. I like this warm rather than hot from the oven; or "tepid," as in Elizabeth David's superb crack about the Greeks, in Mediterranean Food.
" Lamb on the Bone:
In the country districts of Greece, and the islands, the household cooking arrangements are fairly primitive and dishes such as this one are prepared early and sent to the village oven; they emerge deliciously cooked, better than they could ever be in a gas oven, but this method by no means ensures that the food will be served hot. The Greeks in fact prefer their food tepid, and it is useless to argue with them."

So off I went to Sainsbury's, to buy a kilo of their basics range, 49p courgettes - all manner of shapes and sizes, not best quality, hence the basics tag and cheaper price tag. So imagine my surprise when I opened up the netting and out tumbled courgettes with Waitrose organic stickers. Uh oh. One woman's basics range is another woman's overpriced, top of the range organic courgette, £3.39 a kilo. Naughty, naughty Waitrose.

1 comment:

April said...

I love the name "courgettes". Here they are zucchini, which has its own allure. I always think I like them more than I actually do, but they are good to hide shredded in spaghetti sauce and thus get us all a few more veggies in our lives. My favorite way to eat zucchini is in zucchini bread. A friend of mine makes a recipe that is bright green and when you press on the surface, oil sort of beads up, it is so moist. Absolutely delicious...