Gratin de Courgettes

How many vegetable gratins have we in our national cuisine? Well, there’s Cauliflower Cheese (hardly a triumph, I feel) and … could you call Pan Haggerty a gratin? Clearly we are not over-endowed with the things, which is why we seize on what the French do. This courgette gratin is superb served straight from the oven: the courgette tender but faintly crisp in an egg custard that is just set. A dish worth perfecting so that you don’t deprive yourself of the real joy of it.