We are beginning to get into the time of year when courgettes are multiplying faster than we can cook them - I am contstantly trying to find new ways to fool my husband into eating them.  I came accross this recipe for a savoury courgette cake that is absolutely delicious and has so many uses.  It can be a delicious starter, makes a fine addition to any picnic, cut up small can be a delectable canapé and is perfect for a summer lunch with salad.

Do you have any exciting seasonal recipes to share with us?  Please let us know!

Courgette, Bacon and Pine Kernel Cake

300g firm small courgettes, washed, dried and coarsley grated
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
100ml milk
100ml olive oil
180g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
80g Gruyere or Emmental cheese, grated
20g Parmesan, finely grated
100g bacon, cooked lardons or diced streaky bacon (optional)
100g pine kernels, toasted
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C, butter and line a 10×24cm loaf tin.

Pour the eggs, milk and oil into a jug and whisk lightly.  Season with salt and pepper.

Sieve the flour and baking powder into a medium sized mixing bowl and gradually whisk in the liquid until you have a smooth batter.  Fold in the courgettes, grated cheese, pine kernels, bacon (optional) garlic and chives then spoon the mixture into the tin.

Bake for around 45 minutes until firm and golden.  Test with a skewer to make sure the cake is cooked in the middle.  Leave to cool in the tin for around 15 minutes then turn out carefully.

These are a few of the Gonalston Farm Shop team’s favourite places to eat accross the globe - please let us know your most memorable eateries from near and far. 

Codfather Seafood and Sushi, 37 The Drive, Cape Town, South Africa

Codfather opened as a Seafood restaurant and Sushi Bar about five years ago - one of the first Sushi venues in Cape Town.  They serve an amazing array of freshly caught seafood and sushi in a very buzzy, yet warm and relaxed environment.  They do not have any menus and the unique way in which the waiters help you put your meal together works beautifully in that it allows you to select everything according to your appetite and budget.  In other words the options and possibilities are endless.

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, 21 Upper Merion Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud has been offering the ultimate in dining experience for food lovers since 1981 when the restaurant first opened.  Since then they have continually set the standards by which others are judged and they have won every major food award in the world.

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud is set agains the backdrop of one of Europe’s finest wine cellars.  Visit the link below to look at some of their moutwathering menus.

www.restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie

R C Otter’s Island Eats, 11508 Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva Island, Florida

Award-winning RC Otter’s is a place for the whole family.  It is located in the heart of Old Captiva Village with lovely shopping and dinning, you can enjoy live music daily with dining inside or out.  Great island food, local fun and affordable prices with casual and comfortable surroundings.  Serving the finest seafood dishes, voodoo steak and chops, creative pasta, and  large vegetarian kids’ menu.  Right on the beach, stroll in wearing your bikkini and no one will bat an eyelid!

Carnivore Restaurant, Nairobi, Kenya

The Carnivore is a unique experience.  This open-air speciality restaurant sells every type of meat imaginable, including four choices fo wild game.  The meat is roasted on traditional Maasai swords over a huge, visually spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant.

The waiters then carry these swords around the restaurant, carving unlimited amounts of the prime meats onto sizzling, cast iron plate in front of you.  A wide selection of salads, vegetable side dishes, and a variety of exotic sauces accompany the meat feast.  Dessert an dcoffee follow this.  The full meal including a soup course if flat price.  This all has to be seen (and tasted!) to be believed!

Otto’s, Woolloomooloo Wharf, 6 Cowper Road, Woolloomooloo, Sydney

Otto’s is a decidedly authentic Italian restaurant that places a modern spin on more traditional dishes, and the generous view contains a bit of everything: the green Botanic Gardens, the busy skyline and the harbour lapping against berthed yachts.  It is also an awesome spot to watch the fire works from.

The menu reads like a map of iconic produce regions; Sicilian olive oil, Spencer Gulf prawns and Tasmanian Spring Bay scallops.  The interior is pleasant, but be sure to call ahead if you want to snare one of the more fashionable outside tables.  The menu is tweaked almost weekly to keep regulars enticed, and the whole baked Barramundi is the unspoken star of the menu and is left off the printed menu for fear it will sell out and disappoint those who miss out!

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