How to make and cook courgette spaghetti (aka courgetti)

Until a few years ago the most exciting thing that I used to make with a courgette was to slice in thinly and fry in a little butter. But that’s no longer the case. Courgettes are now the must have vegetable and I have to admit, one of my favourites.

Courgettes were once a vegetable that if you grew your own then at harvest time there would be so many you couldn’t give them away. They seemed a pretty tasteless and uninspiring vegetable … until along came courgetti.

All hail the courgette revolution! Demand has increased so much for this vegetable that in January 2017 the UK hit a courgette-crisis point when cold weather in Spain and Italy drastically hit supplies, sending prices soaring and leaving supermarket shelves empty. Fortunately the cold snap ended and the courgette crisis ended as quickly as it started. Phew!

Courgetti has become the health-conscious eaters best friend. Perfect for the carb-free and/or gluten diet, courgetti is the new pasta. And … it’s just so quick and easy to make.

To make courgetti you need either a spiraliser, vegetable peeler or knife. A spiraliser is the quickest and easiest way to make courgetti. A wide range of vegetables can be spiralised although courgettes and spiralisers are a match made in heaven; they are one of the best vegetables to spiralise. You can choose from a wide range of spiralisers both made held and machines.

Wash your courgettes before use. Chop off both ends. Spiralise.

To cook, I like to gently stir-fry my courgette in a little coconut oil or olive oil. How long you cook it for is down to personal taste. Likewise what you cook it with. If you are using the courgetti as a straight replacement for spaghetti then, once cooked simply mix it with your sauce. If not then check out this simple recipe for stir-fried courgette and garlic, I love this and it is so simple.

Don’t be confused. Courgetti has a few names but they are all the same thing: courgetti, courgette spaghetti, zucchini noodle, courgette noodles, zucchini pasta, zoodles.

If you fancy having a go at growing courgettes then they are fairly easy to grow. You can buy seed from Thompson & Morgan. Sow seeds outside early June. The plants need to be spaced 90cm apart or you can grow them in containers. Courgettes should be ready to be picked late July/August. Although not widely available in supermarkets, when growing from seed different shapes and colours are available.