I used to think that courgettes were bland, tasteless watery veg until I stopped overcooking them, brushed them with olive oil and seasoning and bunged them on the barbecue.

Sliced diagonally they do really well on the barbecue or griddle.

Alternatively, slice them lengthways, make a ridge all the way down the middle and stuff them with fresh tomatoes, garlic and olive oil before sticking them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Courgettes are also really easy to grow, although you should give yourself plenty of room as the yellow flowers are enormous and the plants themselves can take up a fair bit of space on your plot. If you are limited, grow just one in a large pot and it should produce a good number of courgettes.

They thrive in hot summers in full sun and should be sown from April until June and harvested from the middle of summer until the first frosts. Courgettes need fertile, moist soil and it’s beneficial to add plenty of organic matter to the soil.

Courgettes are best when picked young and thin. Slice them off using a kitchen knife rather than tugging at them. Good varieties include Venus, a compact plant producing bumper crops of dark green courgettes, and Black Forest.