The courgette (or zucchini) is technically a fruit but most people call it a vegetable and it is usually in cookbooks as a vegetable. You can get courgettes in two colours - dark green and bright yellow.

The courgette is a member of the squash family, and is very closely related to squash and pumpkins, so close that the plants can cross-pollinate.

Courgettes need to be picked young or they get hard and woody and are not good to eat. They have a soft skin so they don't need to be peeled before cooking. They can be cooked in a variety of different ways; steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or in stews and other dishes. The flowers are sometimes eaten stuffed, or stuffed, dipped in batter and deep fried.