Early Courgettes and Late Parsnips
by Sarah Flint

Courgettes under cover

I’m surprised courgettes aren’t grown more widely. Perhaps they’re presumed to be a difficult Mediterranean vegetable. Don’t be afraid – they’re just small marrows and anyone can grow them.
As well as producing lots of fruit (as long as you keep picking), they make good ground cover under sweetcorn and display their large golden flowers throughout the summer. They can be planted in troughs and large pots, and even like to put their roots down in a compost heap (just be sure you’re not going to need the compost before the autumn).
Forget boring long, green courgettes and grow yellow, round and stripy ones. Seeds from Italy are making their way into the catalogues and have made me want to try different varieties every year.
A crop of early courgettes in May is a delicious treat, so try growing them under cloches this year. This means sowing the seed in mid-March. I only grow two plants – plenty for an average-size family – and I place seeds, two to an 8cm (3in) pot of compost, about 2.5cm (1in) deep. They then go on to a windowsill in the warmth of my house and when the first leaves have developed I cruelly remove the weaker of the two seedlings.
About the same time (and depending on the weather), I prepare their final growing place. They love a rich soil so I work in a good bucketful of manure or compost into the bottom of a planting hole. Then I cover the soil with plastic tunnels to warm it up.
When the plants have three to four leaves they’re ready to transplant. I remove the tunnels and give each planting position a really good watering. Then I cover the soil with fleece (black polythene will do), burying the edges in the soil to secure it, and plant through large slits made in it. To make best use of the space I grow bush types. They need to be 60cm (2ft) apart (trailing ones 1–1.5m (3–4ft) apart). The tunnels then go back over them.
Remember to ventilate on warm days, which allows pollinating insects to get in to do their bit (if it’s a dull cool spring a touch of hand pollination will be necessary – invert the smaller male flower over the larger open female flower). Once the danger of frosts has passed, the tunnels are removed and, apart from keeping them generously watered, I leave them to it.

Courgette seed varieties

Although any immature marrow is a courgette, some varieties are more suitable for producing perfect small fruit. Trailing varieties can be trained up structures, while bush varieties are good for a small garden.
The following are all bushy:

• Floridor F1: Round, golden and smooth skinned.
• Cavili F1: Pale green, cylindrical with creamy flesh.
• Early Golden Crookneck: An oddity – curved club-shaped golden warty fruit!
• Ronde de Nice: Round with mottled mid-green skin.

Cinnamon Courgettes

(serves 4 as an accompaniment with meat)

Cook 500g (1lb) of sliced, peeled courgettes gently in olive oil, covering the pan with a lid. When they’re nearly tender add a pinch of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, a tablespoon of caster sugar and a seasoning of ground black pepper. Cook for a few more minutes to create a syrupy coating sauce.

Late winter parsnips

There’s something very soothing about the earthy sweetness of parsnip on a cold day. They’re a good vegetable to grow for the winter as they can be left in the ground from October to April and dug up when needed. Their drawback is they need an early sowing – early March if the weather is good – which means ground is taken up for a long time. Sowing a catch crop of lettuce or radish among them makes better use of the space.
They grow in most soils but prefer a light tilth that has been manured for a previous crop. Sow the seed fairly thickly (the germination rate is not great, and it’s slow – so be patient), in drills 1.2cm (1/2 in) deep and then thin to 15–23cm (6–9in) apart.
In October the leaves will die back and it’s time to start eating these long roots. They have a habit of disappearing from view so I usually mark the row or else I’m inclined to forget where they are by January. Rather than struggling to free them from frozen ground later in the winter, I put bracken leaves around some of the row to prevent the soil getting too concrete-like (frosts are meant to make them sweeter – I’m still not sure how true that is). If we have a mild winter they start to re-grow – in which case they’re dug up and stored in boxes of sand in a cool shed.
As well as their natural starchy sugars, parsnips also contain a good amount of fibre, potassium and Vitamin C. They were a staple diet of our ancestors, before the advent of potatoes, and are just as versatile. Prepare them like carrots, but remove the woody core in larger ones.
I like them best just boiled and mashed along with potatoes (about half and half), with lots of butter and a pinch of nutmeg (parsnips always do better with the addition of cream or butter). A sweeter mix can be made with carrots – which is delicious with a gammon steak.
They make a hearty and warming soup, especially if a teaspoon of curry powder (your own mix or shop bought) is added when the onion and parsnips are being sautéed before adding the stock – and use beef stock for a fuller flavour. Right at the end, stir in a little cream to the smooth purée.
Try parsnips chips by parboiling wedges until tender. Drain them, then deep fry in oil until golden brown. They are perfect with any game dish, but why not be adventurous and have them with sausages!

Parsnip canker

This is the most common disease of parsnips, when the crown cracks allowing rot to enter the whole root. It’s usually due to drought, over-rich soil or crown damage. Use resistant cultivars such as Gladiator F1 or Avonresister (which also takes up less space). It also helps to sow later – in April or early May.

Parsnips Molly Parkin

(serves 6)

• 1kg (2lbs) peeled and sliced parsnips
• 500g (1lb) skinned and sliced tomatoes
• 5 tbs oil
• 75g (3oz) butter
• 3 level tbs soft brown sugar
• 175g (6oz) grated Gruyere cheese
• 300ml (1/2 pint) single or double cream
• 4 round tbs fresh white breadcrumbs
• Salt and black pepper

Gently fry the parsnips for four minutes in the oil. Grease a one litre (two pint) casserole dish with half the butter and layer slices of parsnips over the base.
Sprinkle with a little sugar, salt and freshly ground pepper, then add a little cream. Cover with a layer of tomatoes and spread cheese over them. Repeat these layers until all the ingredients are used up, finishing off with cream and cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and dot with the remaining butter.
Cook for 40 minutes in the centre of a pre-heated oven (325º F/ 170ºC/gas mark 3).