So far this month, I’ve been attempting to have a less meat heavy diet. It wouldn’t be fair to say that I’ve gone vegetarian but I’m certainly racking up more days where dead animal doesn’t feature. The way to do that is to find other things that are delightful to eat and one of my favourites has been fried courgettes.

Simply slicing them into rounds about 1cm thick and frying in a little oil until they start to colour on the faces makes them quite delicious and more so when seasoned and combined with other ingredients. I’m tempted to describe them as ‘meaty’ but what I mean by that is that they bring depth of flavour, texture, succulence and (from the oil) some fat which makes for an excellent mouth feel.

We’re not in peak courgette season yet but I think they will feature on the list of vegetables I’ll try to get going up at the allotment as we move into spring and summer. I’ll also be interested to see if I can preserve them in a way that might allow me to enjoy the same culinary benefits from my own crops beyond the end of the season.