You know that summer has really arrived when friends begin bringing you bags of courgettes that need using up because they have a glut on their allotment or in the garden. Runner beans are suffering at the moment because of the lack of rain, and so are many summer fruits and vegetables that usually flourish at the moment, including potatoes. But it seems courgettes are oblivious to the drought conditions.

So what on earth do we all do with the piles of courgettes filling our kitchens?

The great thing about this lovely little vegetable, which is actually an unripe marrow and a member of the squash family, is its versatility. Although courgettes have a very delicate flavour, they can be cooked in so many ways — steamed, grilled, stuffed, baked, boiled, fried or barbecued — that they should be welcome with open arms at this time of the year.

They are a particularly useful stand-in for recipes that call for aubergines, can be turned into a great summer chutney or soup, and even grated and added to bread dough, soufflés and cakes. They can be eaten raw, sliced or shredded and added to a salad, or served in ribbons that have been marinated in oil and lemon juice, and their delicate yellow flowers can be stuffed and cooked.

Another good thing about this summer vegetable is that courgettes cook very quickly and you don’t have to peel them first. They are the last vegetable you put into a stir-fry and the last vegetable you cook when roasting vegetables to go with the Sunday roast.

Another advantage is that, like their relation, the pumpkin, they absorb the flavours in which they are cooked. Add them to a curry and they will really taste of curry spices; add them to a tomato-based stew and they will taste like tomatoes.

Those on a diet will be pleased to know they are very low in calories — only 15 calories to every 100 grams. They also contain useful amounts of folate, potassium, and vitamin A. So they don’t just taste good they do you good. Courgettes — or zucchini as they are known in many countries — originate from Italy and thought to have been introduced to America and then the UK by Italian immigrants. They come in several colours and although most have an elongated shape similar to a cucumber, you can get little round courgettes, which make for an interesting dish if you hollow them out and then fill with a ratatouille mix and bake.

The Turkish often cook them in a pancake called Mucver made from shredded courgettes, flour and eggs, which when cooked are eaten with yoghurt.

Other Eastern cuisines often serve them stuffed with minced meat, herbs and rice, to which spices have been added before the whole thing is steamed or baked.

The Greeks prefer to fry or boil them with green chilli and aubergines, which they often serve as an hors d’oeuvre. They use the flower, too, stuffing it with feta cheese to which herbs have been added, before the flowers are deep-fried or baked in tomato sauce.

I am rather fond of turning them into a chutney, if I have time to allow the mixture to mature over a low heat for about two hours until it thickens and turns a glorious brown chutney colour. If you check the Internet you will notice many courgette recipes, including a delicious one from Jamie Oliver who, like me, believes you can alter a chutney recipe according to the ingredients you have to hand and change the spices to suit your taste. He adds sultanas or raisins to his pot, whereas I prefer to add a handful or two of chopped dried apricots. Jamie flavours his courgette chutney with a generous amount of coriander seeds.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall throws whatever is in season into his pot, seeing this preserve as a great way to use up fallen apples, overripe plums and bruised fruits and vegetables.

Antonio Carluccio believes that you can cook courgettes any way your imagination can conjure up, though he considers browned courgette slices dressed with olive oil, vinegar, garlic and mint are one of his favourite ways of serving them. He sees them as being equally good with both creamy, cheesy ingredients and acidic ones, such as tomato, lemon and vinegar.

If friends deliver home-grown courgettes to your kitchen, you have no problem about them being fresh. But when buying them, look for a shiny skin, and ignore those that look dull and pot marked. If stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator’s vegetable container, they keep their freshness for several days, though they are best eaten the day they are picked.

As to size, well, they seem to taste best when used before they get too large. But if you do discover some have turned to marrows, worry not — they can still be used and enjoyed.