These little courgette balls – or polpette – make a delicious summer vegetarian lunch or dinner. Easy to make and a good one to try for picky eaters.
These courgette polpette are best eaten at the height of summer when courgettes (zucchini) are at their best. This vegetarian recipe is an unintentional hidden vegetable recipe that’s always worth a try with picky eaters. It’s great for lunch or dinner, snacks, picnics and lunchboxes.
I’ve tried courgettes in many different recipes and still not managed to get either of my children to eat one. On the other hand we went camping a couple of weekends ago with another family whose two-year-old ignored all the sausages at a barbecue and tucked into the charred courgettes and aubergines so it is possible for small children to love their vegetables!
My pregnancy sickness has nearly gone now but I’m still struggling slightly with green food. Yes, that’s right, a vegetarian cook and indeed lover of all green veg, went completely off of anything green for around two months. So when two lovely courgettes (one green and one yellow) arrived in my Local Greens veg bag this week I was a little unsure what to do with them. I didn’t feel ready to eat them grilled, which is what I’d usually do with such lovely, young veg, but they seemed too good to put in a cake.
And then I remembered courgette polpette, a recipe that I’ve been wanting to make for ages both to try for myself and for this blog. They were absolutely delicious and D and I both scoffed loads of them. The children of course wouldn’t try them, but so many people have told me that their children love these that I felt justified in including them here. They’d also be really good for baby led weaning. It’s definitely one I’m going to try when this third child of ours is being weaned – I’ll be hoping for third time lucky with the vegetable eating!
What is polpette?
Polpette is the Italian word for meatballs. These courgette balls, or courgette polpette, are meatball shaped but are suitable for vegetarians.
Here’s how to make courgette polpette:
Polpette - courgette balls
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large courgettes zucchini, grated (you can peel them if your children don't like "green bits" but you will lose some of the nutrients)
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp parmesan optional
- 1 275 g ball of mozzarella torn into small pieces
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp parsley optional, this is worth leaving out if your children are fussy about green bits
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- Salt and pepper optional and salt best left out for under ones
Instructions
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Heat the oven to 180°C (fan)200°C/gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
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Using a muslin cloth or clean tea towel squeeze as much water as possible out of the grated courgettes.
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Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the courgettes and fry until starting to turn golden brown, stirring often to avoid sticking. Allow the courgettes to cool a little.
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Meanwhile, place all the other ingredients into a large bowl. Mix the cooled courgettes with the other ingredients, season to taste, then form into 12 small balls. Place on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Can be served hot or cold.
If you like this why not try these courgette and potato fritters.
Pin courgette balls for later
This recipe is adapted from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe I found on the Guardian website.
NB: recipe updated June 2017
ciaraattwell
August 4, 2014 at 5:50 pmThese look really good!
Sneaky Veg
August 4, 2014 at 5:57 pmThanks Ciara!
Heather Haigh
August 4, 2014 at 6:36 pmMust confess I’m not a huge fan of courgettes myself, but that does sound nice.
Sneaky Veg
August 4, 2014 at 9:22 pmDefinitely give them a go. If you like cheese I think you’d probably like them, especially if you use some of the nice young courgettes that are in season at the moment.
Rachel
August 4, 2014 at 6:44 pmOoh sounds delicious. I wonder if my courgette-hating husband could be persuaded by these? He can be worse than our 3 year old!! X
Sneaky Veg
August 4, 2014 at 9:21 pmDon’t tell him what’s in them!
Hayley @ Hay In A Day
August 4, 2014 at 8:19 pmOooo I love courgette and mixed with Parmesan and mozzarella sounds delicious! #cookblogshare
Sneaky Veg
August 4, 2014 at 9:21 pmThey really are delicious, and extremely moreish!
Julie's Family Kitchen
August 5, 2014 at 5:33 amThese sound great, particularly if you have a glut of courgettes that need using up. I think I must be lucky we are a courgette loving family. Definitely a recipe I’d like to try. ????
Sneaky Veg
August 5, 2014 at 6:00 amThanks Julie! I’d love to hear if you do try them. X
Anne
August 6, 2014 at 3:26 pmI’m not trying to *hide* zucchini/courgettes – we love them – but it’s still nice to have some different recipes for them, and this looks good! I’ve seen fritter recipes, and had considered them, but I like these better. Adding the mozzarella makes them a more substantial part of the meal, while baking instead of frying them makes them lighter.
Sneaky Veg
August 6, 2014 at 3:59 pmThanks Anne. We had them with new potatoes and tomato salad and it was a substantial, if light, meal. Hope you enjoy them!
Anne
August 6, 2014 at 3:33 pmI’m not trying to hid zucchini/courgettes – we like them – but this looks good! The cheese adds some extra oomph – makes it all a larger part of the meal.
lucyparissi
August 10, 2014 at 11:07 amThis looks really delicious – I used to make a similar version but with added chopped courgette flowers in them. Yummy with some tsatsiki! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShareCheck out the other entries on Pinterest and Google+
Sneaky Veg
August 10, 2014 at 5:01 pmThanks Lucy! Love the idea of courgette flowers.
Emily @amummytoo
August 29, 2014 at 9:58 amMmmm, they would be lovely with soup. Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. Sorry I was particularly slow getting over for this one. I’ve pinned it to my food board and a tweet will go out shortly 🙂
Sneaky Veg
August 29, 2014 at 10:16 amThanks Emily!
Eat Your Veg
October 9, 2014 at 9:28 amSo sorry it’s taken me an age to get around to looking at this glorious recipe, but your polpette look absolutely delicious and something I know my own monsters would happily devour. I’m so going to be making, thank you so much! And thanks for entering to Family Foodies Aug & Sept event, The Unders 2s.
Sneaky Veg
October 9, 2014 at 9:44 amThanks! They were very tasty, hope you enjoy x