Courgette parmesan crisps |

It’s that time of year when I’m finding ways to incorporate courgettes into every dish possible. We’re getting around 5 or 6 courgettes (or zucchinis) per week from 2 plants, and as ever, they’re a delight to start with, but once you’ve had your fill of them, and then the glut really gets going, they start to become a bit overwhelming. Having said that, last year I lost my courgette plants to the slugs, and I missed them so much. I got given some by my allotment neighbours, and I could have easily bought some, but it’s just not the same. I hadn’t realised until then, how much a part of my summer tradition they had become. Who’d have thought it of a little green vegetable that frankly doesn’t even taste of an awful lot. So I vouched never to complain about a courgette glut ever again, so I’m honestly not complaining.

I came across a recipe for courgette parmesan crisps in a gardening book I bought a few months ago, and I decided I really had to try it out. However, it wasn’t the greatest success. The recipe involved baking the courgettes at a very low temperature for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours! After the first hour they still looked pretty uncrisp like, so out of a little impatience I turned the oven up high and pretty soon they crisped up. The only trouble was, I had sliced them very, very thinly, so some went from green to black in seconds. They were tasty, but the cooking time was slightly off putting, and I decided to look for an alternative recipe.

So I went onto the internet, good old Pinterest, and searched for courgette and zucchini crisps, and quickly found this recipe from the blog Five Heart Home, which sounded like a much better solution. These ones turned out perfectly and were delicious, devoured in seconds. Today I did them again but with normal cheddar cheese which worked just as well, it’s just a bit more tricky to spoon evenly onto the slices, but that doesn’t matter too much. I happened to have a bit of lemon zest going spare so threw that on too, and it really worked well, gave them a lovely lemony zing (think lemon cheesecake) so I’ll try that again next time.

I don’t think we’ll have too many glut problems this year, the only problem is getting your share of these once they’re out of the oven!

Slice the courgettes into rounds, around 4 or 5mm thick, and lay them out onto a baking tray lined with a sheet of baking paper. Press a piece of kitchen paper over them to remove any excess moisture. Sprinkle over some garlic salt, or as I used, garlic granules and a little sea salt, a grinding of black pepper, and then top each slice with a little mound of grated parmesan cheese (easier to do with a teaspoon). Obviously the bigger slices will take more than the smaller ones, so use your judgement, but don’t worry too much, the cheese spreads out as it melts.

Bake in a hot oven (around 220ºc) for 15-20 minutes. I find mine need the full 20 mins, but it might depend on your oven. Eat them while they’re still warm.