Courgette/Cucumber Leaf

How to choose courgettes or cucumbers for carving

Courgettes

Where the stalk has been cut off it should still look fresh. It should have a smooth, unbroken skin and it should be straight.

Where the stalk has been cut off it should still look fresh. It should have a smooth, unbroken skin and it should be straight.

1. Cut a slice from the side of the courgette.
2. Cut the slice into a leaf shape.
3. Cut a very thin slice from the skin of the courgette to mark out one side of the stem of the leaf.
4. Cut out another thin slice to mark out the other side of the stem of the leaf.
5. Starting at the wide end of the courgette cut out a triangle shape.
6. Cut out more triangle shapes along the stem marked out earlier. The triangles should get smaller as you get nearer the thin end of the courgette.
7. Around the outside of the courgette cut out small triangle shapes.
8. The finished leaf.