Courgette Bake Recipe

This is another recipe from my hubby's aunty, she made us this fabulous side dish at a pre-Christmas/Thanksgiving meal, thanks Kate for passing this on, hope you don't mind me sharing.

Ingredients:

3 Large or 5 Medium Courgette
2oz Unsalted Butter
2oz Gran Padano grated (or any hard cheese such as Parmesan, Peccorino)
1/4 Pint of Double Cream (for a healthier option you could use half fat sour cream or creme fraiche)
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Grate the courgette and toss with salt and put in a colander or sieve over a bowl.  Leave for about an hour for the water to run out.  Squeeze as much water out as possible by hand but keep the liquid in case it needs more during the cooking. 

2. Chop the onion finely. Heat the butter in a large frying pan or wide saucepan add the onion and fry until it turns soft but not brown.  

3. Add the grated courgette and keep stirring until it is heated through and beginning to soften.  

4. Add the cheese and stir until melted.  Then add the cream and add some of the courgette liquid back if it seems dry.  Season with salt and pepper and put into a medium oven (about 160c) for about 30 minutes.  Add more cheese to the top for the last 10 minutes if desired.  

We had half of this for tea tonight and then I have put half the batch into the freezer for Christmas day.