Fried and Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Ciao a tutti!! For years, I heard my mother speak of Zucchini Flowers. They’re not as popular in the United States as they are in Italy, so getting your hands on them can be pretty difficult. You’re best trying a farmers market once they are in season. I only first tried Zucchini Flowers on my first trip to Italy in the summer of 2011. When my mother and I were in Rome that trip, we made sure to indulge in zucchini flowers every single day. Since then, anytime they’re in season, I buy them once a week and go to town. There are many ways to prepare zucchini flowers, toss them with some pasta, serve them on a white pizza, simply grill them…but my favorite way is to stuff them with ricotta and fry them. Very healthy, I know. But life is short so you gotta live a little! If you have never had zucchini flowers and can get your hands on a batch, I promise you, you will LOVE them!

Fried Zucchini Flowers

Makes 8-12 zucchini flowers

For the ricotta filling

½ cup ricotta cheese

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 tbsp. dried Italian seasonings

For the batter

¾ cup of cornstarch

¼ cup flour

1 tsp. of baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons of salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon of garlic powder

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 egg

For frying

1 ½ cups of neutral oil (Vegetable, canola or peanut)

Start off by cleaning your zucchini flowers. Check the insides for petals or small bugs (I know, it’s yucky, but they can sneak in there!) Rinse them and then pat them dry. In a medium bowl, add your ricotta, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, parsley and dried Italian seasonings. Mix until well combined. 

In a shallow dish or container, add your cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Lightly mix with a fork. In a bowl, crack and whisk your egg.  Take your zucchini flower and gently open it and add a tsp. of the ricotta mix, then roll it in the cornstarch mix and then dip in the egg. Set aside on a separate plate. Continue doing this until all of your zucchini flowers are covered. If you need more egg, you can always crack another. 

Prepare a medium size deep pot over medium-high heat and add your 1 ½ cups of oil. When the oil is heated, gently place in your zucchini flowers. Each flower should take around 3-5 minutes to fry. As they are each done frying, place them on a wire rack to cool, a wire rack will also help them avoid steaming up. There is a chance you may have some cornstarch mix leftover, so you will just have to throw it out. Eat right away while they are still nice, hot and crunchy!! Buon Appetito!! 

Fried Zucchini

If you are like me (and most people out there), you love fried food. Anything that tastes good to begin with can only taste even more amazing when fried, right? When I was in Italy last summer, I had the ultimate pleasure of sampling every single vegetable you can imagine fried! The Italians have something called Fritto Misto, which is a dish of pieces of meat, seafood or vegetable dipped in a light batter and fried. 

When my mother and I are in Rome, we share an order of Fritto Misto everyday. We had fried artichokes, eggplant, peppers, lemons, apples. The beauty of this dish is that you can pretty much fry whatever your heart desires. One of my favorite fried vegetables however, (Besides my all time favorite, Fried Cauliflower) is fried zucchini.

I was inspired to make my fried zucchini when I went shopping at my local farmers market. They had the most beautiful, fresh zucchinis. I couldn't resist. What I love about this batter is how light it is because of the corn starch. It’s not thick and heavy where you can’t even taste the vegetable insides. It is a very thin batter, so don’t get nervous and think you made a mistake. Don’t be fooled by how thin it is, it will stick to your vegetables and fry up perfectly. It’s so crispy, you will love these. Let me know what you think!!

Fried Zucchini

3 zucchinis

1 cup of oil (for frying)

3/4 cup of cornstarch

¼ cup of flour

1 tsp. of baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons of salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon of garlic powder

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

½ cup of water

1 egg

Clean your zucchinis and dry them. Then cut them into very thin slices (You can make them however thin or thick you like, but they will fry better when they are thin and taste even crispier.) Mix all of your dry ingredients, the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Then add your water and egg and beat lightly.

Use a deep enough pan to fry. Set your stove on high heat and put the oil in the pan. You will want to wait for it to really heat up before beginning to fry. Once it is hot, dip your zucchini slices in the batter and carefully immerse in the oil. Allow each side to fry for at least two minutes. Take the zucchini and put on a wire rack to cool. Salt lightly and enjoy!!

Fritto Misto

As I said in my previous post, I love fried food, so I will look for any reason or occasion to fry something. For example “Oh, it’s Tuesday, I should fry some broccoli” or “Oh, the mail didn’t come yet, better fry some string beans.” And no, this is not much of an exaggeration for me. I just really like my fried food. Which brings us to my Fritto Misto. (This is a dish of pieces of meat, seafood or vegetable dipped in a light batter and fried.)

I am so excited to be going back to Italy for Christmas. We will be going to Rome, Florence and Parma. I can’t wait to explore even more of the beauty and culture that the city has to offer and eat more of the glorious food. That includes getting a platter of Fritto Misto once a day (I’m not kidding)

The inspiration for this dish came the other day when I was deciding what to make for dinner. I had some nice whole wheat penne with pesto leftover, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough for a complete meal. I looked in the refrigerator and saw some zucchini, asparagus and yellow peppers. LIGHTBULB OVER HEAD MOMENT!! I also had enough ingredients to make the same light and luscious batter that I made for the zucchini the other night. So, I decided to fry all of these vegetables, which gives you….the Fritto Misto.

Fritto Misto

10 stalks of asparagus
 2 peppers
1 zucchini
1 cup of oil (for frying)

3/4 cup of cornstarch
¼ cup of flour
1 tsp. of baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons of salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ cup of water
1 egg

Clean your asparagus, zucchini and peppers and dry them. Cut the zucchini into very thin slices (You can make them however thin or thick you like, but they will fry better when they are thin and taste even crispier.) Cut the top of your pepper off and clean the inside, making sure to remove all of the seeds and white skin. Slice. Cut your asparagus (my trick for making sure I get the good asparagus is to just snap them by hand, where they naturally snap, is what you will want to get rid of.)

Mix all of your dry ingredients, the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Then add your water and egg and beat lightly.

Use a deep enough pan to fry. Set your stove on high heat and put the oil in the pan. You will want to wait for it to really heat up before beginning to fry. Once it is hot, dip your vegetables in the batter and carefully immerse in the oil. Allow each side to fry for at least two minutes. Take the vegetables and put on a wire rack to cool. Salt lightly and enjoy!! As always, I encourage you to leave comments and let me know what's on your mind!!

Zucchini Flowers

Ciao a tutti!! I hope everyone has been having a lovely and relaxing weekend.  I myself have been busy in the kitchen, as usual!!

A couple of days ago I was shopping on Fresh Direct, when I came across them. Yes, them. The food that changed my life forever. The food that I only for the first time tried last summer in Italy. I’m talking about…..zucchini flowers.

Zucchini flowers are very hard to come by and are only in season for a few months, so when I saw them, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase a few batches.

My mom had been telling me about these delicate, light blossoms for years. She herself first tried them in Italy and I had my chance last year. When we were in Rome, we ate them every day. They were on every menu, so I just wanted to make sure I got my fix. We had them stuffed, pan fried, on white pizza, you name it. But my favorite way to eat them was the classic stuffed and fried version, who can blame me? Because really, when you stuff something with cheese and fry it, how can that not be anything but amazing?!?! So, in honor of the zucchini flower (or squash blossom), I present…Fiori di Zucca.

Fiori di zucca

6 medium squash blossoms
2 cups Ricotta
1 tablespoon Italian parsley – chopped fine
1 tablespoon basil – chopped fine

Chopped garlic- Quanto basta
2 eggs
1 cup flour
Vegetable/Canola oil – enough to fry
salt/pepper

Start off by cleaning them very well, they are extremely delicate so please be careful. Wash them with a spray of water and dry with a paper towel. Gently open the tips of the blossoms and pull out seeds or anything that doesn’t look too appealing. Set the blossoms aside.

Place a few inches of oil into a deep pot and heat.

Add the ricotta and herbs into a small bowl and mix well, season with salt and pepper.

Put the eggs into a small bowl and beat. Put the flour in a separate bowl. Set aside.

Very carefully pull back the tops of the blossoms and using a tiny spoon or a pastry bag, put enough of the ricotta mixture in to fill the blossom without tearing it. Twist the tops of the blossoms to seal. Continue until all blossoms are filled.

Dip the blossoms into the egg mixture and then coat with the flour. Tap off any excess flour. Continue until all blossoms are done.

Place blossoms into the heated oil and cook until golden, this should only take a few minutes, but stand by them to watch and see exactly how golden you like them. When done, transfer blossoms to a wire rack lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil and season lightly with salt while they’re still warm.

Please let me know if you have had zucchini flowers and what you think of them!! Buon Appetito!

Burgers and Chips with dip: An American classic with an Italian twist

Now that the weather in New York is getting so beautiful, I started to think of summer. A relaxing walk on the beach, a cool swim in the pool and all of those tempting barbeques. When I think of summer, what comes to mind is a big juicy, mouthwatering burger slathered with flavored mayonnaise and a side of chips. But, while I want to keep most of my posts traditional, I also want to mix it up a little and have some fun. So when I was thinking about said burger and chips, I wanted to give them an Italian twist on it. And so ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I present: Italian sausage burgers with zucchini chips and pesto aioli.   

Il secondo (second course, main course)

My mother first made these burgers for my family this past summer. They are so simple to make, but I promise you, they will be most impressive at your next barbeque. When my mama made these, my brother and father were raving about them for days. It took me a few times to finally try them, but when I did….wow. That’s all I can say. They are juicy and perfectly seasoned. But you know what, enough talk about them. I’ll let you be the judge.

Italian Sausage Burgers

1 pound of ground Italian sausage (hot or sweet, whatever you prefer)
Salt
Pepper
Chopped Italian parsley
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Onion powder
4 tablespoons grated parmigiana

Put your ground Italian sausage in a large bowl. Add your salt, pepper, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and 4 tablespoons of grated parmesan. All of these spices are to taste, you can add as little or as much as you would like depending on how intense you like the flavor. Mix all of your meat and seasonings. Using your hands, form into 4 patties.

Prepare a pan with 3 tablespoons of oil and put your patties on the pan. Make sure each side cooks for around twelve minutes; you need to make sure that they are thoroughly cooked.  All together, it will probably take around 25 minutes for them to finish cooking. (These must be cooked slowly or the pork could get tough) Serve with a dollop of pesto aioli (recipe below.) I like to eat mine on a thin, whole grain bun, but may I also suggest serving them on ciabatta or focaccia? I also like to add a few pieces of arugula in place of lettuce, just another little twist.

Pesto Aioli:

4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
3 tablespoons of pesto (prepared pesto is easily found in Italian food shops)

Simply mix the mayonnaise and pesto until smooth and creamy.

Il Contorno (side dishes)

What’s great about zucchini is that you can slice it very thin; so it really gives that feeling and taste of potato chips. When they are lightly coated in a chickpea flour mix, they fry up nice and crunchy. I like to dip mine in the pesto mayonnaise instead of the usual onion dip.

Zucchini Chips

2 zucchinis
¼ cup of chickpea flour
Salt
Pepper
Finely chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons of grated parmigiana
1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons of water
4 tablespoons of oil (for frying)

Thinly slice your zucchini. Put it in on a paper towel and salt it so it removes most of the water, let it sit for a few minutes.

Combine your chickpea flour, salt, pepper, parsley and grated parmesan in a flat, shallow bowl. This will make it easier to fully coat with the flour mixture.

In another bowl, whisk your egg and add 2 tablespoons of water.

Take the zucchini slices and dip in the egg mixture, make sure they get wet enough so everything sticks. Then put it with the flour mix and coat evenly.

Heat your pan and add 4 tablespoons of oil. Put the zucchini chips in the pan and allow to fry for around 5 minutes on each side. Gently use tongs to remove them from the oil and put on a paper towel so the excess oil can drain off. Salt again. Enjoy with your burger and some pesto aioli for dipping!!

While these are great to serve at a summer barbeque, why wait?!?! So go cook up your burgers and chips and eat outside if you can and have a taste of summer early. Boun Appetito!