Courgettes stuffed with Beaufort
Round courgettes lend themselves perfectly to stuffing with a deeply savoury filling, as here. Beaufort is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese, which is flavourful but not too strong. Other similar cheeses, such as Gruyère or Comté, can be used in its place.
SERVES 4
8 round courgettes (150–200g each)
100ml light olive oil, plus extra for oiling
2 shallots, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
10g marjoram or basil, finely snipped
220g Beaufort
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Cut off the top 5mm of stem attached to each courgette, then slice off the top quarter, to create a lid. Set these lids aside.
Using a melon baller or teaspoon, scrape out the inside flesh from the courgettes, leaving about a 5mm layer of flesh attached to the skins. Chop the scooped-out flesh and set aside.
Heat 50ml of the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat, then add the shallots and sweat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the chopped courgette flesh, lemon juice and some salt and pepper, and cook gently over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cold, stir in your chosen herb.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Cut 180g of the cheese into roughly 1.5cm cubes; finely grate the rest of the cheese and set aside.
Sprinkle the inside of each hollowed-out courgette with salt and pepper and spoon in the cooled filling, distributing the cubes of cheese evenly through the mixture as you go.
Stand the filled courgettes in a lightly oiled oven dish and brush all over with the remaining 50ml olive oil. Pour 50ml water into the dish around (not over) the courgettes, and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place a reserved lid on each courgette. Bake for a further 20 minutes, then sprinkle generously with the grated cheese. Return to the oven for 2–3 minutes until the cheese has melted and is cloaking the courgettes.
Serve the courgettes straight from the dish, offering two each. Tip the cooking juices from the dish into a jug and pass it around to pour inside the courgettes as you start to eat them.