ITALIAN RECIPES
Zucchini Blossom or Just Zucchini
Zucchini Flower Risotto with prosecco
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (300 g) Vialone Nano or other short-grained rice
Simmering vegetable broth (unsalted canned will work if need be; you'll want a quart)
10 zucchini blossoms
1/4 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano
Half a white onion, minced
Olive oil
1 cup sparkling Prosecco (warm)
2 walnut-sized chunks of unsalted butter
Salt & pepper to tastePreparation:
Wash the blossoms gently, removing the stems and pistils, and pat the yellow petals dry. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pot and gently sauté the onion, stirring it with a spoon, until it has begun to turn golden.
Add the rice and turn the burner up to a brisk flame; cook, stirring, until the grains have become translucent -- 3 to 5 minutes. Add half the wine and stiff, then lower the flame and begin adding broth a ladle at a time, stirring gently.
When the rice is almost done, thinly slice the zucchini petals and stir them in too; check seasoning, stir in the butter and the cheese, and turn off the flame. Let the risotto sit covered for about 30 seconds, then sprinkle the remaining Prosecco over it, Stir again, and it's ready to serve.
To serve 4.Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients:
6 long zucchini (as opposed to the round variety)
1/2 pound minced beef
Day-old Italian bread stripped of crust and crumbled -- the same volume as the meat
Grated pecorino romano -- a half cup, or more, to taste
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
Minced parsley (a small bunch)
Olive Oil
Black pepper and salt to taste (keep in mind that pecorino romano is salty)Preparation:
Wash the zucchini, split them lengthwise, and scoop out the pulp with a spoon. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, and use it to fill the zucchini shells (if the volume of the mixture looks low with respect to that of the shells add some of the zucchini pulp to it).
Put the stuffed zucchini in a lightly oiled baking tin, drizzle them lightly with oil, and bake them in a warm (375 F or 180 C) oven until they're done -- a half hour to 45 minutes.
The wine? A white, and I'd be tempted by a Falanghina, from Campania.
To serve 6.Zucchini Blossoms Stuffed with Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup rice (any kind will do)
4 baby zucchini
16 zucchini blossoms, stemmed, pistils removed, washed, and gently patted dry
A bunch of parsley, minced
4 ounces (100 g) scamorza (a firm, elastic slightly sharp
South Italian cow & goat or cow's milk cheese; substitute with Provolone if need be)
Garlic
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to tastePreparation:
But the rice in a pot with slightly more than twice its volume of lightly salted water or vegetable broth and cook it until it's done.
Dice the zucchini and cook them for a few minutes in a little olive oil, with a small minced clove of garlic, salting lightly.
Combine the cooked rice and the zucchini in a bowl and mix carefully; you don't want the zucchini to become a paste.
Preheat your oven to 160 F (180 C).
Fill the zucchini blossoms with the rice mixture (you may find it easier to do this if you gather the filling into a pastry bag with a wide nozzle, and squeeze it into the flowers), putting a cube of scamorza in the middle of each flower as you fill it.
Lay the zucchini blossoms on a lightly oiled oven-proof serving dish. Drizzle a little more oil over them and bake them for about 15 minutes.
The wine? A deft white, for example a Chardonnay from Friuli's Collio.
To Serve 4.Neapolitan Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Ingredients:
The Beginning
12 zucchini blossoms, stemmed, pistils removed, gently washed, and patted dry
The Dough
2 1/2 cups (250 g) flour
3 eggs
Salt & pepper
1/2 ounce (10 g) baker's yeast (the live cakes sold in supermarkets)
Milk
The Filling
3 ounces (75 g) prosciutto, diced
An egg
6 ounces (150 g) provolone, fresh or smoked, finely diced
Salt and a little pepper
Minced basil and parsley
A cup of freshly grated Parmigiano
Cooking:
Olive oil for fryingPreparation:
Dissolve the yeast in a demitasse cup of warm milk.
Make a ring of the flour and drop into it the eggs, dissolved yeast, and a pinch of salt. Knead the mixture, adding enough more milk to obtain a smooth soft dough.
Cover it and put it in a warm place to rise.
Combine the ingredients of the filling and season it to taste. Fill the blossoms with the mixture (you may find it easier to do this if you gather the filling into a pastry bag with a wide nozzle, and squeeze it into the flowers).
Roll out the dough, cut it into squares, and wrap the blossoms in them, crimping the edges well to seal them in. Fry them until they're golden brown in abundant hot oil. Drain them well on absorbent paper, and serve them hot.
A wine? A Falanghina del Taburno, a white.
To serve 6.Zucchini fritters
Ingredients:
1 pound (500 g) zucchini
Flour
Grated Pecorino romano
Olive oil for frying
Salt & Pepper to tastePreparation:
Wash the zucchini, pat them dry, and cut them into thin strips. Make a batter with the flour, water, salt, grated pecorino, and pepper; it should be liquid but not runny, and you'll want to use soemwhat more flour than cheese.
Dip the zucchini strips in it, fry them, drain them on absorbent paper, and serve them hot.
Buon appetito!
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