To celebrate National Vegetarian Week (20-26 May) we’ve opted for a unique, colourful take on an often overlooked vegetable.

Courgettes grow well in the UK – they come into season in early June – but have a reputation for being bland. This zingy, creamy recipe should change all that and it makes use of their flowers too. The fennel sherbet adds a freshness to balance the milky cobnuts (a type of hazelnut) and if you can’t get your hands on ewe’s curd, a goat’s cheese works just as well. Serve as an accompaniment to a main meal – or give it pride of place in the centre of the table at a summertime get-together.

Kcal: 250 per serving

Sat fat: 2.1g per serving

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 3 minutes

Ingredients (Serves 4):

1 yellow courgette
1 green courgette
8 courgette flowers, stamens removed
160g fresh ewe’s curd or goat’s cheese
40g fresh cobnuts or hazelnuts, lightly crushed
Cobnut or hazelnut oil

For the sherbet:

100g icing sugar
2 tsps citric acid (£1 for 50g; wilko.com)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp ‘wild’ fennel seeds

Recipe: Stuffed Courgette Flowers