( see also SQUASH AND PUMPKIN ) Although winter squashes do not enjoy the popularity they once did, the same is not true for summer squashes, and especially not for the versatile zucchini. An American summer squash, the zucchini ( Cucurbita pepo ) bears an Italian name that is the diminutive of zucca , meaning “gourd.” As a rule, this vegetable has a smooth, shiny, green, very thin rind - reminiscent of that of its cousin, the cucumber. But the flesh is firmer. The zucchini also comes with a deep yellow skin - this is called a “golden zucchini” - and there is another variety called “Italian squash” or cocozelle . Zucchini goes well with tomato sauce and is worked into numerous main and side dishes. On its own it can be steamed, fried, boiled, broiled, simmered, stuffed, and eaten raw as an appetizer and in salads. Common names and synonyms: Cocozelle , courgette, golden zucchini, Italian squash, vegetable marrow. See in addition : “ Squash ,” Part II, Section C, Chapter 8. …