We were inspired by a trip to Naples to stuff courgettes, but were daunted as we thought it needed piping bags and was super fiddly, but this isn’t the case. Anyway, we started growing them along with tomatoes and nasturtiums, so there is the makings of a wonderful feast. It is also an excellent way of using up a glut of courgettes. Courgettes flowers are gendered. The male ones are just the flowers on a stalk, the female ones have both flowers and courgettes. You need to remove the stigma (the bit inside the flower) with tweezers. Ideally, make the filling and salsa and get the oven up to temperature before you pick the courgette flowers, so you can cook them straight away. The filling is rich, yet light, and goes beautifully with the slightly citrusy petals and the crunchy green courgettes

12 courgette flowers, ideally with baby courgette attached (I.e female ones)

extra virgin olive oil

For the filling:-

125g ricotta

20g feta cheese

1 tbspn finely chopped chives

1 tbspn finely chopped dill

5 blades of tarragon, finely chopped

2 pinches smoked paprika

For the salad:-

1 small fennel bulb, finely diced

4 large tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and diced

½ fresh red chilli, finely chopped

Juice of ½ lemon or yuzu

3 blades finely chopped lemon verbena (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil

• First, heat your oven to 200C. Whilst this is happening, make the salad by mixing the ingredients together. Drizzle with good quality olive oil and add the lemon juice a teaspoon at a time, stirring as you go, until you get the required acidity
• Next mix the ricotta and feta to make a smooth paste then stir in the herbs. Check the seasoning – add more salt if needed.
• Gently put 2 teaspoons of the mixture inside each of the courgette flowers until they are ¾ full, twisting the top of the petals together to seal the filling inside. It doesn’t matter too much if they are not fully sealed
• Place on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle salt on the courgette only – not the flower. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes
• Serve immediately with the salad of nasturtium leaves and flowers