Trombette and zucchini flower frittata

One June morning I come back from the market with the trombette, and they still have the flowers attached. I want to make a frittata with them. Only problem: I have no idea how you're supposed to handle zucchini flowers.

So I ask Silvia, who knows more about these things than I do: «open the flower, take out the green base and the inner pistil, and rinse well». And I, dead serious: «and what on earth are the base and the pistil?». Turns out at school I only ever followed human anatomy. Verdict, between one laugh and the next: «fine, just keep the yellow petals, it's quicker».

Let's start there, because that's the real hurdle: the flowers. You open them, free them of the inner pistil and wash them carefully, because inside you find soil and the occasional six-legged tenant. If you'd rather not think about it, pull off and keep just the yellow petals: the flavour is all there.

Trombette with their flowers, at the Oneglia market stall.

The rest is the simplest frittata in the world, and it tastes of garden and sea at once. You get the trombette at the market, ideally from the lady who picks your vegetables one by one. She's the one who taught me something I didn't know: zucchini flowers must be used the same day, and if you need the trombette to last a few days longer, buy them with the flowers still on, because the flower protects the courgette.

My daughter Emma, who won't even look at ordinary courgettes, goes wild for this frittata. And when a child asks for seconds of vegetables, you've won.