- Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
- Creamy Baccala' and Potatoes
- Garden Salad with Lemon / Olive Oil Dressing
- Freshly Baked Focaccia Bread
- Death by Chocolate Volcanic Lava Cake
TO PREPARE THE ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS:
Rinse them very lightly with water, and set them on a towel to dry. Open each blossom carefully, and gently grab the stigma, and remove it. Snap off the stem, so only the blossoms remain, and remove the sepals which are a bit thorny.
For more on zucchini blossoms...
FOR THE BAKED BLOSSOMS:
12 prepared zucchini blossoms
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella di bufala, cut into small cubes
Small slivers of cured meat
Olive oil, salt
Coat a small baking pan with olive oil.
Stuff each blossom with bits of cheese and meat. The amount depends on the size of the blossom.
Gently twist the ends closed and place in the pan.
Drizzle with a bit more oil, sprinkle salt and bake at 350 for 15 min.
FOR THE FRIED BLOSSOMS:
The stuffing:
12 prepared zucchini blossoms
1 c. fresh ricotta
1 large egg yolk
1/4 c. finely chopped mentuccia (calamint)
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
The batter:
1 c. flour
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 egg
Acqua frizzante
In a bowl, mix the fresh ricotta, egg yolk, mentuccia and 1/3 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with a little salt.
Using a pastry bag, fill the blossoms, twisting the ends a bit to seal in the stuffing.
Mix all batter ingredients in a medium bowl, adding the water bit by bit until it is the consistency of pancake batter.
So delicious stuffed with ricotta!....
Our garden fresh salad was made from a mixture of seasonal greens. The dressing we used was a simple, typically Italian dressing: olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon and salt.
What goes better with a fresh green salad than freshly baked focaccia?!...
FOCACCIA BREAD
Recipe came from www.allrecipes.com
3 ml honey (1/2 teaspoon honey)
7 grams active dry yeast (or fresh yeast)
160 ml warm water 45º C (2/3 cup warm water 110º F)
250 grams all purpose flour (2 cups flour)
3 grams salt (1/2 teaspoon salt)
60 ml olive oil, divided (4 tablespoons olive oil)
Coarse sea salt
Fresh rosemary
In large bowl, dissolve honey and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup flour, salt, and 3 tablespoons olive oil to the yeast mixture. Stir until combined and then work in the last cup of flour.
Knead the dough until smooth, elastic, and soft, about 7 minutes. Add only enough flour to keep the dough from being sticky.
Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle, about ½ inch thick. Place in greased 9x13 inch pan or baking sheet.
Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200º C (400º F).
Poke dimples in the bread and drizzle olive oil on top, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt and fresh rosemary. Bake for 15 minutes.
BRANDADE DE MORUE
Adapted from the delectable recipe on the http://aromacucina.typepad.com/ blog.
1/2 kg of died cod, soaked overnight
1/2 kg of potatoes, boiled unpeeled
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
120 ml heavy cream
60 ml olive oil
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 180C.
Boil the cod until tender, drain.Crumble the cod in a large bowl.
Peel the potatoes and put through a ricer into the bowl with the cod.
Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well, adding additional cream if necessary.
Put into a deep dish baking pirofila and bake about 30 minutes or until crisp on top.
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE VOLCANIC LAVA CAKE
Original recipe “Chocolate Lava Cake” adapted from www.famousfrenchdeserts.com
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
8 ramekins
Preheat oven to 180C
Ingredients:
340 grams 70% dark chocolate
340 grams butter at room temperature
6 eggs
200 grams granulated Sugar
80 grams flour
Butter for ramekins
Melt chocolate on low flame in a double boiler. When melted, remove from flame and
Stir in butter until it melts.
In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until light and fluffy.
Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.
Butter 8 individual ramekins, and pour in chocolate batter.
Cook for about 10 minutes.
Invert ramekins onto dessert plates and serve.
Comments:
May be prepared ahead of time covered with a towel. Before baking, remove towel and then bake approximately 10 minutes
Butter the ramekins bottoms first and then butter the sides, wiping from the bottom up to the top.
If you want the center to be very liquid bake less time. Check with a cake tester after about 7 minutes to see if the top is cooked through and the center is still liquid. If you don’t want the center to be liquid bake 10 minutes or a little longer for an incredibly moist chocolate cake. Either way, you can't go wrong!
Ready to eat!...
