It’s that time of year again, the days of delighting in the first few courgettes have transformed into a bewilderment of abundance. As fast as I pick them, more are growing – it’s wonderful.
Courgettes are finding their way into as many meals as possible. I’m dehydrating them too in my Stockli electric dehydrator for winter use. Stored in large glass they are delicious added to soups, stews and curries and good to nibble on as a snack.
Courgettes are delicious in all kinds of baked goods – breads, cakes and muffins. My recipe for crunchy courgette muffins is here.
I have a large jar of dessicated coconut in the cupboard and an abundance of lemon basil in the polytunnel and thought they would go deliciously together with courgette in a muffin.
Courgette, coconut and lemon basil muffins
To make 24 muffins – I was baking for 20 people, so halve the recipe if you have fewer mouths to feed. They do freeze well and are handy for lunch boxes – you can just bring one out the freezer in the morning and it will be defrosted by lunchtime.
Ingredients
375g / 3 cups wholemeal self raising flour
125g/ 1 cup white self raising flour
1 tsp baking power
140 ml/ 1 cup vegetable oil (I used sunflower, melted coconut oil would be good too)
125g / 1 cup soft brown sugar
350g / 2 cups grated courgette
150g / 1 1/2 cups dessicated coconut
1 lime or lemon, juice (and zest too if it is organic or wax free, wash first)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp lemon basil (or lime or sweet basil) optional, chopped
4 eggs or 4 flaxseed ‘eggs’ – 4 tbsp flaxseed (linseed) freshly ground and mixed with 10 tsp cool water, leave for 5 minutes before using
Two mixing bowls
Two 12 hole muffin trays and paper inserts (if using)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F
Method
Make the flaxseed ‘eggs’ if you’re making the vegan version.
In one bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and ground ginger.
In the other bowl, beat the eggs (if using). Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon juice (and zest). Mix together.
Add the grated courgette, basil and coconut to the egg mixture.
Next, pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Mix carefully making sure that everything is combined and you can’t see any dry flour.
Using a spoon, divide equally between the muffin cases.
Put in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. The muffins will be a golden brown and a skewer inserted into them will come out ‘clean’.
Put on cooling racks for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the tins and replace on the cooling rack until cool.
Store in an airtight container.
Tip: For a savory muffin, replace the sugar with 125g/1 cup oats added at the same time as the coconut. You may need a little extra liquid if the mixture is too dry – water, nut milk , milk or a few spoons of dairy/non dairy yogurt
Thanks Steph – the muffins sound delicious, I shall give them a whirl.
BTW I sometimes replace courgettes with young custard squash … if courgette production slows in the heat the squash are a good substitute. Just had our first sweet corn here in Charente, SW France.
Happy Eating!!
Good tip! So far courgettes are enjoying the heat but I don’t think they like the lack of water so much.
Thanks for the recipe.
I love my dehydrator as well. What settings do you use for dehydrating corgettes please. I’ve never done them before.
Suella
It depends on your dehydrator, they are all a bit different. Mine recommends 70 ˚F/ 21˚C
Thanks Steph I have a Stockli I’ve usefd for a few years now. How long do you reckon you need to dehydrate them, and do they need to be ca 1/2 ” thick or so?
I appreciate your sharing.
It all depends on how dry your air is, things like that. I cut them about 3 or 4 mm thick. Would tell you what the manual says but I had it in my hand a few minutes ago, got distracted by one of my kids and now can’t find where I put it!!