Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

This is equally good served at room temperature or hot, so you can make it well in advance if that suits your schedule.

Ingredients
500g/1lb 2oz summer squash, eg pattypans or crooknecks
1 small onion, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, chopped fine
pinch dried herbs or a sprig of fresh: tarragon, oregano and thyme would all be good
1 punnet of good-quality cherry tomatoes (not Dutch if you can help it), halved
1-2 tbsp lemon juice or good wine vinegar

Method
1. Wash the squash and trim them top and bottom, but leave whole. Put the onion and olive oil in a heavy frying pan that can be covered with a lid, and bring the heat up to a low sizzle. Let the onions cook, with regular stirring, till they're fairly soft and very lightly coloured (around 10-15 minutes). You can chop the garlic and prepare the tomatoes in the meantime. Now add the garlic and stir it in for a few minutes, just till it starts to smell really fragrant. Put in the squash, toss them in the oily onion/garlic mix, add the herbs and season well with salt and pepper. Put in around 110ml/4fl oz of water (stock is even better), bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and let the stew cook on its own. You only need to check for liquid from time to time: if the pan is getting too dry, add more water.

2. The cooking time will depend on how soft you like squash to be. For al dente, 10 or 15 minutes might suffice. If you like them very soft, 20-25 minutes might be right. You can judge the degree of cooking by poking a small, sharp knife in. If it slides in easily and comes out hot, the squash are cooked. If they are very cooked, you will feel the whole squash sag as you stick the knife in.

3. When the squash are cooked the way you like, remove from the pan and put the tomatoes in. Turn the heat up to medium-high and put in the tomatoes, plus another splash of water if the pan is very dry. Toss the tomatoes to coat with cooking juices while you cut each squash in half or quarters, as you like. Put the cut squash back in the pan, toss quickly with the acidic ingredient, and either serve immediately or leave to cool for serving later.

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