If you have the time, salt, drain and dry the sliced courgettes: layer them in a colander, sprinkling each layer with salt, and place a suitably sized plate on top.

Weigh this down with a heavy object (like scale weights) and after 30 minutes quite a bit of water will have been drawn out. Dry them really thoroughly in a clean cloth and then they’re ready to cook. Heat the oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the courgettes in one layer (otherwise do them in two batches), add the crushed garlic and sauté the courgette slices to a nice golden colour on each side. Next arrange layers of courgettes, cheese slices and sliced tomatoes in a heatproof gratin dish so that they overlap each other slightly like slates on a roof.  You can watch how to skin tomatoes in our Cookery School Video on the right

Finally sprinkle on the grated Parmesan, basil and salt and freshly milled pepper. Then bake on a high shelf in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve this with lots of crusty bread and a green salad with a sharp lemony dressing.