ALMOST every vegetable gardener I know grows courgettes, but the full-size version, the marrow — once a mainstay of British allotments — seems somewhat neglected these days.

Perhaps part of the reason, as with many traditional vegetables which fall out of fashion, is people’s childhood memories of giant marrows grown for size, not flavour, and then mercilessly cooked until any remaining risk of taste or texture had been expunged.

But grown for the kitchen rather than the show bench, picked at the right time, and prepared according to the many excellent, modern recipes available online, I think marrows deserve to regain their former status.