Its taken a while but, finally, they are in full throttle. In a normal summer we would have been picking these most days since mid December but this year they have had to first survive a bird attack (where they were uprooted, so I had to re plant them which knocked them back), then freezing south westerlies straight from Antarctica. It didn’t get properly hot until mid January, but still the winds have persisted – just hot ones – which is stressful and takes its toll on the plants. I have been giving them extra nurturing in the form of liquid feeds and warm mulch, and tying them up on stakes so the wind doesn’t snap them off at the bottom of the stalk.

Zucchini have a reputation for being bland, but this is so not true. Like cucumber, they have a very strong, unmistakable flavour, but it’s subtle, so it needs subtle treatment to enhance the flavours and not drown them out. Olive oil, garlic, lemon and mint are zucchinis’ friends. Slice a couple, marinate and sizzled on the grill with (or without) sausages at your next barbie. An unctuous and creamy zucchini risotto is comfort food at its best. For a hearty main try this summer vege stew with black beans and pesto, served on top of crispy potato slices its like a Mediterranean nachos. Thinly slice and bathe zucchini in the best olive oil you can find for this elegant zucchini carpaccio. Stuff them – with or without meat – for a main course. I love the subtle flavours of this mashed garlic infused zucchini filling with mint and feta salsa. Here is my attempt at copying an elegant pasta dish we once ate in Palermo of swordfish and zucchini stirred through freshly made fettuccine. It was this dish that gave me the epiphany as to how strong the flavour of these little treasures are. I couldn’t even see the zucchini, so finely were they diced, but the flavour was unmistakable and shone out over the fish.