Courgettes

Best home grown from mid-June to October

Courgettes are baby marrows, and don’t I know it! I used to grow them, but if I wasn’t vigilant about picking them every day in season they seemed to turn into marrows overnight – and marrow for supper night after night is not a good idea! Now I would rather buy them small and tender. Courgettes are a delicate vegetable, with not a great deal of their own flavour, and like aubergines they have a high water content that can render them watery and dull. I like them chunkily cut and roasted in the oven, as in Oven-Roasted Ratatouille, or Marinated Courgettes with Herb Vinaigrette (see both recipes below), which allows them to absorb some real flavour.