Courgette Relish
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This Courgette Relish is the perfect way to get the most out of a bumper courgette crop. It is an easy relish to knock together and has endless uses from burger or hot dog toppings, barbecue accompaniments or the grace within a cheese sandwich. You'll love its tangy sweetness flavoured with turmeric, mustard seeds and nutmeg.
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Are chutney and relish the same?
- How to use courgette relish
- Full list of ingredients needed
- How to grate your courgettes for this zucchini relish recipe
- Step-by-step instructions
- Tips for best results
- Shop the recipe
- How to store
- More summer preserve recipes you’ll love!
- More courgette recipes you’ll love
- Courgette Relish
Certain recipes come into your life in different ways, and this one was begged and pleaded for after we fell in love with a jar of this courgette relish. Our friend who had bestowed this precious gift on us couldn’t quite remember where she got the original recipe from; she thought maybe The Times, but when it was passed along the quantities were in cups so perhaps it originated across the pond.
I wish I could thank whomever originally wrote the recipe (I’ve tried to find it). This sweet zucchini relish really is one of the staples of our larder and during this time of year I make it in bulk when the courgettes are proudly in bloom.
A large quantity is a must as one of the worst things to befall our kitchen is when the last jar is finished in March and we have to wait months for the next glut of courgettes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A jar of this courgette relish will be your calling card. Just like we did, whomever you serve it to will beg for the recipe.
- Your new favourite way to use up a glut of courgettes.
- Very easy to make.
- Stores very well so you can enjoy your courgettes all year round.
- Great accompaniment to hot dogs, burgers or cold meats.
Are chutney and relish the same?
This sweet courgette relish cannot be confused with a courgette chutney. In fact a relish and chutney are quite different. Relishes tend to have a shorter cooking time whereas chutneys will have a long slow cook and be quite thickly textured and jammy in consistency.
Often relishes will also have a shorter shelf life but in this instance our courgette relish can be stored for a good length of time.
How to use courgette relish
The beauty of the relish is that although its natural season to be brought to the table is summer when the barbecues hit, its amiability knows no bounds. The obvious use for this courgette relish is on a burger and really you can get no better topping. The flavour is sweet and piquant with the gentle pop of mustard seeds. However, it can also accompany the sausages that are grilled on bonfire night to great effect and a laden Christmas buffet replete with roast ham and turkey pies.
During the rest of the year it’s included in lunch staples such as toasted sandwiches or brought along to spring picnics. The courgette relish pairs naturally with cheese and I got into a bit of a habit earlier this year of stirring it into a cheddar and tuna salad along with a bit of olive oil for dressing.
Full list of ingredients needed
- courgettes (zucchini)
- onions
- red peppers
- white sugar
- white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- turmeric
- white mustard seeds
- celery seeds
- ground nutmeg
- white pepper
- sea salt
How to grate your courgettes for this zucchini relish recipe
This is a lot of courgette to grate so I don’t recommend a hand grater (unless you are really stuck).
The perfect way to grate the courgettes is by using the attachment of your food processor which will get this job done in moments. Creating perfectly uniformed julienned courgettes.
Alternatively you could also use a spiraliser.
Step-by-step instructions
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Day 1
Place the grated courgettes, onions, peppers and salt in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and leave to stand overnight.
Day 2
- Drain then rinse well under running cold water to remove the excess salt.
- Return the courgette mix to the large saucepan and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Decant into sterilised jars and store until ready to eat.
Please note, the courgette relish has a very thin sauce which I enjoy. I usually fork out the vegetables from the jar to use on burgers/ hot dogs etc. leaving the sauce to collect in the bottom of the jar. Then I add the piquant sauce to dressings, marinades or to pep up white sauces. Alternatively you can thicken up the sauce with a touch of cornflour before you decant the relish into jars.
Tips for best results
- Cook your relish in a large stainless steel preserving pan. It doesn’t have to be expensive.
- Jars - When you are preserving you can use any clean and sterilised jars. You can use the jars more than once but you must always use fresh lids as they can deteriorate which might damage the seal on your jars and lead to unsafe preserves. You can buy new lids from Amazon for different sized jars.
- To sterilise the jars - Place the very clean jars you would like to use in an oven pre-heated to 140°C for 20 minutes. Sterilise the lids by dropping them into a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. It is best not to sterilise lids in the oven as they can easily ruin.
Shop the recipe
- Jam Funnel – If you make a lot of chutneys and jams then I would definitely buy an inexpensive jam funnel. Useful for decanting pretty much anything around the kitchen too!
- Kilner jars (250g) – these are great for all kinds of preserving. You can re-use the jars again and again (just clean and sterilise them first) and buying new lids is very easy.
How to store
Unopened courgette relish will keep for up to 6 months if stored in a cool dry place. Once opened store in the fridge and consume the relish within 2 weeks.
More summer preserve recipes you’ll love!
- Pickled Golden Beetroot
- Plum BBQ Sauce
- Apple and Stem Ginger Chutney
- Green Tomato Ketchup
- Plum and Beetroot Chutney
- Blackberry Hoisin Sauce
- Piccalilli
- Mango Chutney with Stem Ginger
More courgette recipes you’ll love
- Roasted Courgette and Aubergine with Sumac and Herbs
- Jalapeno Honey Courgette Cornbread
- Gluten-Free Courgette Cake Traybake with Mascarpone
- Chocolate Courgette Muffins (vegan, gluten-free)
If you come round to my house it’s more or less guaranteed you will leave with a jar of something homemade, and the wise visitor will make a request for the courgette relish, after all that’s how it came to us in the first place.
I urge you to give this Courgette Relish a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
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Courgette Relish
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg courgettes - julienned, about 12
- 1 kg spanish onions - grated, about 4
- 2 red peppers - sliced very thinly, then quartered lengthways
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 1.5 kg granulated sugar
- 925 g white wine vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons turmeric
- 1.5 tablespoons white mustard seeds
- 3 teaspoons celery seeds
- 3 teaspoons nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- Place the courgettes, onions, peppers and salt in a large preserving pan, cover with water and leave to stand overnight.
- The next day drain and rinse well to remove the excess salt.
- Return the courgette mix to the preserving pan and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Decant into sterilised jars*. It is ready to eat straightaway or you can store in a cool dark place until needed for up to a year.
Notes
- Yield 8 x 380ml jars
To sterilise the jars
Place the very clean jars you would like to use in an oven pre-heated to 140°C for 20 minutes. Sterilise the lids by dropping them into a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. It is best not to sterilise lids in the oven as they can easily ruin.How to store
Unopened courgette relish will keep for up to 6 months if stored in a cool dry place. Once opened store in the fridge and consume the relish within 2 weeks.Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Fantastic result from this recipe. I added some cornflour as suggested by others. Will reduce vinegar and sugar next time for less runny mixture but have enjoyed using the extra liquid in dressings. Definitely recommend this recipe.
I'm so happy you enjoyed it - thank you for leaving your feedback on the relish!
Fabulous, made for second time today, and have shared recipe with friends. Thank you
Lovely relish! I had to make a couple of substitutions as I had no celery seed or nutmeg, so I used dill seeds ( I have rampant dill as well as a glut of courgettes) instead of celery seeds, and mace instead of nutmeg. It worked perfectly well. I will definitely be making more of this it has just the right balance of sweet and vinegar. Thanks for sharing
It's a pleasure - thank you for your feedback on the relish, I'm so happy you enjoyed it.
Hi there, I am making your relish recipe and wonder what is the finsl consistency suppored to be like? Should it be like a savoury jam or chutney or is it amore liquid finish?
Hi Helen, it does have a more liquid finish. Some commentators here like to thicken it up with cornflour so you can choose to do that but to be honest I like the way the original recipe turns out. I often spoon out the liquid in the jar to include in dressings and marinades - it's absolutely delicious!
Hi Georgina, thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I made some last year and it barely made it past Christmas and I'm about to make this years batch, but it will be double the size!
That's great Emma - I'm happy you like the recipe!
Beautiful relish, made yesterday. Saved recipe for next year. Thank you for sharing.
You are most welcome! Thank you for your lovely feedback!
This relish is absolutely beautiful !! Thank you for sharing xx
It's a pleasure - thank you for your feedback!
A delicious relish, easy to make and keeps wonderfully well. We arre eating last years batch 13 months later, it’s still delicious and as good as when first made. Just making it again. It’s a perfect way to use a glut of courgettes. Thank you.
That's lovely to hear!! Making this recipe every year is an absolute ritual for us.
Its delicious. One question, the nutritional info, is that per 100g? Or other measure?
Thanks
Hi Hilary - thank you! It's so great to make at this time of year. So, the nutritional information is an automated program and it is not calculated scientifically or manually so its accuracy is debatable. However, I am forced to include it if I want my recipe to appear on Google. Here the nutritional information is per serving. I have had a look at this particular recipe as it seemed inaccurate in this instance and I think that was because the program was underestimating how much courgette relish this recipe produces. I've amended it manually to be more accurate. However, please take this information as a rough guide rather than exact. I hope that helps!
I made this recipe a few years ago and enjoyed it. It kept tremendously well in the store cupboard too.
I have now been given some fresh cucumbers and wonder if it would work with them? Any thoughts?
Hi Moira, that's lovely that you enjoyed this recipe. The cucumbers sound like a nice idea - I'd be interested to hear how they work out. Definitely give it a go. I also like using cucumbers in Piccalilli - have you tried that recipe?
No, I'm not so keen on Piccalilli, so haven't tried that. I have found a similar recipe for cucumber relish so will see how I get on with that.
Thanks for your reply.
Absolutely delicious! Great way to use my glut of courgettes and very simple to make. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Dawn! I'm happy you enjoyed the recipe!
One of the best I have tasted and everyone I give it to wants the recipe. What can I say, 10 out of 10!
Thank you Elizabeth! It's true, every time I serve it too I get asked for the recipe!!
I'm so happy I found this recipe - didn't get to my allotment last week and my courgettes have turned into marrows! Hope they will still work for this.
They should definitely work! Let me know how it goes!
Hi Georgina,
Can I use yellow button squash in this relish? Maybe half and half. I like the colour.
kind regards
Dominique
Hi Dominique, I haven't tried it before but I don't see why not. You should prepare the yellow squash in the same way as the courgette though - shredded or spiralised so that it preserves properly. Let me know how it goes - sounds like a delicious alteration!!
Hi Georgina,
I have just made your Courgette Relish but with a few alterations. One I reduced the amount of vinegar (used 600ml) as it looked way too wet and also reduced the amount of sugar (used 1kg). I do like sweet things but thought 1.5kg was too much. Must say it has turned out rather well and is still sweet enough, oh yes also as I had ran out of celery seeds I replaced it with a one and half teaspoon of crushed chillies :-))
Hi Karen. Yes if you reduce the vinegar you would have to reduce the sugar otherwise it would be far too sweet. The vinegar and sugar balance each other out. It is a wet relish which appeals to me as I scoop out the vegetables and use them a bit like pickles, leaving most of the liquid behind. You will usually be left with a sweet sour and spicy elixir at the bottom of your jar which is amazing in salad dressings or added to white sauces to add piquancy. I also know people who have used the recipe as is but added a bit of cornflour to the mix to thicken the juice. Crushed chillies sound like a lovely addition. I hope you enjoy your relish, thank you so much for your comment!