stuffed zucchini flowers
We would like to recreate a dish we had in Sorrento: zucchini flowers stuffed with herbed ricotta cheese, rolled in bread crumbs, and deep fried. Done wrong, they could be a disaster, so we have a lot of questions:
1. What herbs should be mixed into the ricotta?
2. How much cheese should be put into each flower?
3. Would a beaten egg work to seal the ends and as a coating to get the breadcrumbs to stick?
4. How hot and for how long should they be deep fried?
5. Any other things we should know or suggestions y'all have?
Joebob
Jun 23, 2006 11:43AM
I learned how to make something similar in Rome last month, but it had mozzarella and anchovy stuffing and no bread crumbs. I learned it from Maureen Fant (through Scala Reale), who wrote the Williams-Sonoma cookbook on Rome. The recipe is given in that book (which is great, by the way). Here's a short version of what you do; maybe you can adapt it.
1. Clean the zucchini flowers: Snap off the green pointy things at the base and cut the stem off (the thin part, not the bottom of the flower). Trying not to tear the petals, open the flower gently from the top and reach in and remove the calyx. Rinse inside and out and dry with a paper or kitchen towel.
2. Stuff each flower with a bit of anchovy (we used the ones in salt, which require another set of preparations) followed by a small piece of one-day-old mozzarella di bufala, about the size of a thimble. Press the petals closed. (Don't worry about ripped petals as the batter will help hold them closed.)
3. Make a batter of flour and water (the recipe gives a proportion of 2 cups of flour and 1 1/4 cups of water, with 1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt). The batter should coat your finger without dripping.
4. Heat a couple of inches of extra-virgin olive oil in a pot (a wok-type pot works well so you don't have to use too much oil), to 325 degrees--if you drop batter into the oil it should start sizzling immediately.
5. Hold each flower by its base and dip it into plain flour, shake it off, and then dip it into the batter. Put it into the hot oil. You can do three or four at a time.
6. Cook until golden brown (about 3-5 minutes--keep watching), then drain on paper towels. You can keep the cooked ones warming in the oven until they're all done.
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Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I always have so many zucchini flowers in my garden and this will be a great way to use them. Do you serve with a sauce, or just eat plain?
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I serve it with prosecco. ;-) I guess you could serve it with some sort of tomato-based sauce, but I don't think they do that in Italy and I don't do it myself.
I envy you your zucchini blossoms! I live in the city and must buy them at the farmers' market.
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Didn't see JudiAU's post first--there you go! Spicy tomato sauce.
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I make something similar but batter them in a light flour and sparkling water batter. I serve them a little spicy tomato sauce. Chefs seem to prefer the male flowers, i.e. the ones with just a stem attached but I prefer the female flowers with the baby zucchini attached because they look better on the plate, are easier to handle, and I like the slight bitterness of the immature vegetable.
I eyeball it but I think this is close to my proportions: 1/2 whole milk ricotta, whole egg, 3 T. grated parmesan reggiano, 2 finely minced anchovies, 1 T finely minced parsley, and about four minced mint leaves. After rinsing off the flowers I carefully open them, check for pests, and cut out the stamen. I use a small horn caviar spoon to fill them because that is the perfect size. Fill them about half way and don't pack the filling to tightly. Overlap the petals and give them a light twist. Cut a small slash in the baby zucchini to help it cook quickly.
They will stay in the refrigerator a few hours in between slightly damp paper towels.
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First off where do you live cause I'll be right over to take some off your hands...LOL!! Seriously, I have made them stuffed and they were good. BUT I can say that when made by just making a "batter" of beaten eggs and grated romano cheese beaten into the eggs with S+P,then coating them in flour and then the egg/cheese mixture and frying in olive oil til golden brings out the subtle flavor that gets lost somewhat with the stuffing method. That's just my take though.
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Thanks for the unstuffed recipe, I'm going to give that a try.
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Glad to be of help. Just to be clear you lightly dredge the blossoms in flour and then run through the egg/cheese mixture. for abou 3 eggs I'd use about 1/2 cup grated Romano. You can adjust to your taste. And do fry them in Olive oil for a rich taste. By the way this is the exact method my Grandmother used for frying sliced eggplant. And, as she used to, you can sprinkle some extra cheese on the blossoms just after frying. Again to your taste. Enjoy!
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I haven't read other responses, so sorry if I repeat.
I made these last night...
The base of the filling should be ricotta, but the addition of grated parmesan and a few little chunks of mozzarella ups the flavor, and gives a bit of stringiness to the cheese mixture. Make sure you taste the cheese mixture, it may need salt as the ricotta can be bland.
I add just chiffonaded basil, which is pretty traditional.
I bread them with a "tempura" batter of AP flour and fizzy water, but if yours had breadcrumbs, dust the stuffed flowers with flour, coat with egg, let drain to remove excess and then roll in fresh breadcrumbs.
Fry at 340-350 until golden brown (less than golden if doing tempura).
Make sure to salt them right when they come out of the oil...essential.
Before stuffing, it's important to remove the stamin from the inside of the blossom. This is a delicate operation that requires patience and nimble fingers so you get inside without tearing the blossom open (it will leak filling if you do).
Good luck...Hope that helps.
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