What to cook with zucchini: 3 recipes

How to choose and store zucchini

The best zucchini (courgettes) are small to medium, firm and glossy, about the length of your hand, with thin skin and no soft or wrinkled patches. Young zucchini have tiny seeds and a sweet, delicate taste; very large ones are watery and seedy, so scoop out the centre before cooking.

Store zucchini unwashed in a bag in the vegetable drawer and use them within about a week; they don't like the coldest shelf. There is no need to peel young zucchini: the skin holds the slices together and adds colour to ratatouille and baked fish.

Tips so zucchini don't turn watery

• Cut evenly. Slices or cubes of the same thickness cook at the same pace as aubergine, peppers and fish.
• Salt late, or salt and drain. Zucchini release water when salted; season at the end of a ragout, or salt cubes for 15 minutes and pat dry before roasting.
• Give them space. In the oven, a crowded tray steams instead of browning; use two trays if needed.
• Add zucchini later than harder vegetables in a ragout, after potatoes and carrots, so they stay in shape rather than falling apart.

A zucchini week: what to cook

• Monday: white fish baked with vegetables, one tray and 40 minutes.
• Wednesday: vegetable ragout with courgettes and aubergine, a big pot for two days.
• Weekend: ratatouille, the prettiest of the three, for a slower dinner.

Buy three or four medium zucchini at the start of the week and the plan uses all of them.

Leftovers, kids and budget

Ragout and ratatouille taste even better the next day; reheat them gently or serve at room temperature with bread, pasta or rice. Both freeze in portions, though the vegetables soften. Leftover ratatouille makes a quick sauce for pasta.

Children who avoid vegetables often accept zucchini in a soft ragout with potatoes, or diced small in tomato sauce. In late summer zucchini are among the cheapest vegetables, so it is the season to cook them often.