I like trying to come up with new recipes using what we have in the fridge, and so the other day I whipped up this light, yet tasty courgetti dish. Courgetti is a great alternative to pasta. Not only is it gluten-free, but it’s much lighter and less stodgy. I’m not going to lie, I’ve always struggled a bit with the best way to cook courgetti. If I steam it or boil it, it always tends to go a bit mushy. However, after some Googling, I tried to fry it instead and this worked so much better. I don’t have a spiraliser or a Julienne peeler, and so I use a vegetable peeler, meaning that the courgetti is a bit thinner, and so frying is the perfect method for cooking this.
Ingredients
- 2 x large courgettes
- Chicken breast, cut into chunks
- 1 x red pepper
- A handful of chestnut mushrooms
- Fine green beans
- Creme fraiche
- Paprika
- Salt and pepper to season
Method
- Start by peeling the courgettes. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off long strips of the courgette. Try and avoid using the bit in the middle with all of the seeds. Courgetti is a bit like spinach in that when it cooks, it suddenly looks like there’s no where near as much! So bear this in mind and make sure you peel a decent amount. It might take a few attempts at cooking courgetti before you get the quantity right! Set the courgetti aside on some kitchen roll, so that this can soak up the excess moisture from the courgette.
- Slice up the pepper, mushrooms and beans.
- Fry the chicken chunks in some coconut oil, and after a few minutes, add in the red pepper. After about a further 5 minutes, add in the mushroom and green beans and continue to fry.
- In a separate pan, heat some coconut oil, and then add to this the courgetti. Cook on a low heat. The aim is to heat the courgetti, not fry it as such. Using tongs, be sure to move it around often so that the whole lot gets heated.
- In the pan with the chicken, add paprika to season, along with a couple of big dollops of courgette. Stir the creme fraiche and paprika in to the chicken, pepper, mushroom and bean mix, so that it coats it all and the creme fraiche starts to go a light orange colour. When you’re happy with the consistency of the sauce, then you’re done!
- Put the courgetti into a bowl and top with the chicken and veg. Season to taste.
Enjoy!
Sammy x
