There can be nothing more delectable than freshly picked baby courgettes

just boiled or steamed and sprinkled with lemon juice and olive oil.   When they grow  and swell, one can stuff them, fry them, combine them with other ingredients and make stews, tarts and pies.   A very versatile vegetable indeed.

          Here’s a recipe which is colourful and quite delicious:

               SMALL COURGETTE SOUFFLES BAKED IN PEPPER CUPS

          These are not really soufflés but that is what we call them.

8 small, sweet peppers (red, yellow and orange)

500 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, or more

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

Stuffing:

3 cups grated courgettes

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 cup chopped bacon, sauteed with a little water and dried

120 ml  (1/2 cup)  olive oil

1 cup skinned, deseeded and chopped tomatoes

1 cup grated feta

225 g (1½ cup) self-raising flour or more, if necessary

4-5 large eggs, separated, whites whipped stiff with a pinch of salt

Salt and pepper and Cayenne pepper to taste

150 g  (1½ cup) grated Parmesan

          Slice off the top (the lid) of each pepper, remove the seeds and the white parts, and arrange them standing up like cups, in a shallow, ovenproof saucepan.    Sprinkle the peppers with salt and pepper, cover them with their lids and pour the chicken or vegetable stock and olive oil around them.   Simmer, covered, until the peppers soften a little, remove them from the fire and keep them warm. Heat the oven to 190C (375 F).

          Meanwhile prepare the stuffing.  Mix all the ingredients well together except the egg whites and the Parmesan.  Fold in the egg whites, taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and taste again so that you are convinced that the stuffing is delicious.    Then spoon the stuffing into the pepper cups, cover each cup lavishly with Parmesan, pour a little stock around them and bake them for 35-40 minutes or until they are puffed and nicely browned. (Reserve the flesh from the lids for a salad).