Stone fruit are at their best in December. Sweet, juicy, yellow and white peaches and nectarines appear in local green grocers as a herald of Christmas. Available in slipstone (the stone easily comes away from the fruit) and clingstone (the stone is firmly attached to the flesh) varieties they make a fabulous fresh fruit or dessert.

You can peel peaches the same way as tomatoes: by making a small incision on the top, blanching in boiling water for 15 second, dipping into ice water and slipping of the skin starting from the cut. A native of China, the peach is eaten and enjoyed anywhere and has truly conquered the world.

Zucchini or, as some still call them ‘courgettes’, is also in season. They belong to the marrow family and are basically young marrows (‘zucca’ is Italian for pumpkin, another marrow). They range from dark green to bright yellow and are tastiest when smaller. Once they grow larger they tend to contain a lot of water and fibre and are less tasty, but better suited to stuffing. They don’t keep well and need to be used quickly.

Use them raw or lightly pickled in salads, boil, steam or stir-fry them, or use them as part of a ratatouille. A great trick it to cut Zucchini into chunks (or barrel cut them), freeze in a plastic bag to remove the excess water and preserve a rich, bottle-green colour, then thaw to room temperature (draining well) and serve as a salad vegetable or garnish with savoury dishes. Zucchini flowers are delicious and can be stuffed or battered and deep-fried (the female flower has a tiny zucchini attached).