Zucchini

Courgette

What it is

Its ancestors crossed the Atlantic with the conquistadors, but the slim green zucchini we know was shaped in 19th-century Italian market gardens near Milan. Italians still prize its golden blossom as much as the fruit.

In the kitchen

It is nine-tenths water: cook it fast and hot, or salt and drain it, so it browns instead of steaming.

Goes with

Mint Lemon Garlic Parmesan Basil Pine nut Olive oil

Same species

Butternut squash Courgette flower Kabocha Muscade de Provence squash Pattypan squash Red kuri squash

Also used with

Cheonggukjang Chunjang Ricotta salata Smoked scamorza Marjoram Doenjang

In season alongside

Cucumber Frisée Gernika pepper Green bean Lettuce Okra

Something wrong here, or missing? Tell us