Just when you finally got to grips with spiralising your veg, this latest food trend has been hit by a crisis: The Case of the Missing Courgettes.
Be aware: this missing veg also goes under the name zucchini.
Not the title of a new cartoon or child’s book, The Case of the Missing Courgettes is very real. Courgette shelves up and down the country are eerily bare, shoppers staring at them in bemusement, shopping lists in hand and New Year healthy eating plans in tatters.
So, what is going on? Well, the popularity of thinly chopped courgette strips (known as courgetti), along with bad weather across Europe, has led to a shortage of this new favourite vegetable.
The few remaining courgettes that can be found are going for a high price tag – available only to big wigs in the vegetable-buying underworld…
Jordi Vorderman, of vegetable supplier Valstar Holland, told The Guardian newspaper: “Prices are very high – they are above £20 for a 5kg box. So what retailers are probably doing is that they are not buying at these prices and would rather go empty in the stores than buy at these silly levels.”
Come on everyone, let’s go back to the good old days, when we used to buy vegetables that were in season in the UK. What’s wrong with the humble cabbage?
I’m starting a cabbage campaign. This leafy green can be just as exotic as the courgette – I’m sure it could be turned into cabbagetti, some pretty cosmopolitan coleslaws and even cabbage rolls. What’s more, it’s very good for you.