Your Essential Guide to Summer Courgettes
Courgette, or zucchini - depending on what rolls better off your tongue - is one of our classic summer squash crops.
Pertaining to the same family as cucumber, melons and pumpkin, courgettes are characterised by their thin dark green skin, tender flesh and mild flavour.
Because of their high water concentration, courgettes are low in calories, carbohydrates and sugars, yet high in essential nutrients - including potassium, manganese, potassium, folate, vitamins C and A - as well as plenty of fibre.
All of these factors lend courgettes their great capacity for promoting good gut health. Research has shown that eating plenty of courgettes (not too many though!) can reduce inflammation within the gastro-intestinal tract, helping to diminish symptoms of IBS, leaky-gut syndrome and ulcers.
Not only do they exude health, courgettes are incredibly versatile: use a julienne to create ribbons that act as a low-carb substitute for pasta; chop them into stir fries and sauces; grate them into cakes, muffins and vegetarian minced; grill them on the barbecue; convert them into fritters; slice them into salads - they do it all!
If you're on the beginner slopes of home gardening, have a go at growing courgettes: they're incredibly hardy and bound to yield plenty. And I mean PLENTY!
A courgette plant will take somewhere around 6-8 weeks from seed to harvest, and once they start producing fruit, there's no stopping them.
One must also be vigilant - in the space of just a few days, a courgette left unattended will transform into a marrow of unbelievable proportions - and you'll wonder how you possibly missed it. While marrows are fine to eat (they're pretty good when stuffed with mince and cheese and baked), they leave a bit to be desired in terms of texture, so it's best to harvest courgettes while they're still small.
If your courgette plants are living up to their reputation (of producing more than seems reasonably possible), grating the courgettes and popping them in a ziplock bag in the freezer is a great way to save a taste of summer for the long, cold winter months.