Mini courgette

The courgette is a vegetable from the Cucurbitaciae family. This family has more than 850 species of plants, most of them being herbaceous, climbers or creeping plants, and whose fruits are usually big and protected by a firm skin. The courgette’s scientific name is Cucurbita Pepo.

The courgette is originally from America. Nowadays it is grown in Mediterranean countries, the Netherlands and North America. The most known subspecies are: the pepo, with very big spherical or oblong fruits, with yellow or orange colour, and a sweet taste; and the ovifera, which bears small or medium sized fruits which usually have a bitter taste.  On the other hand, those known as baby courgettes are not another kind of courgette but those picked early.

The flesh of the courgette is firm but watery, light and with few calories (30 kcal for every 100 g).