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Marrow Blooms: sciurë 'e cucuzziellë/flours de cougourdeto

Marrow Blooms: sciurë 'e cucuzziellë/flours de cougourdeto
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  • Marrow Blooms: sciurë 'e cucuzziellë/flours de cougourdeto

    Post #1 - June 29th, 2005, 2:39 pm
    Post #1 - June 29th, 2005, 2:39 pm Post #1 - June 29th, 2005, 2:39 pm
    Marrow Blooms Part I
    E laganellë ‘nduratë ch’ ‘e sciure ’e cucuzziellë
    /Le tagliatelle dorate con i fiori di zucchina


    Fads in food come with considerable frequency nowadays and among the many minor ones that I’ve noted over the years is that of “edible flowers.” Whether anthophagy has caught on among the broader community of those with an elevated food-consciousness, I know not, but I do believe that wee plastic boxes with a few (allegedly) edible flowers are on occasion to be found alongside the similarly packaged and highly overpriced packs of fresh herbs offered by such pedestrian supermarchés as “Jewels” and Dominick’s. Apparently though, I move in not so trendy circles for I have neither been offered nor seen offered edible flowers, be it at the homes of friends or in restaurants I have visited... Well, with one exception...

    Born in what is now a relatively historically remote period and into a family that ate a wide variety of traditional southern Italian dishes, I grew up taking for normal lots of things that I gradually learned were unheard of or thought weird or, in a few cases, revolting by most of my fellow Americans. Likely still to be regarded with horror by the average patron of Olive Garage, Romano’s Macaroni Spill or Buca di Culo are such classics as capuzzella (split sheep's head baked in the oven), suffrittö (slow cooked Neapolitan stew of pig’s lungs, heart, spleen, etc.) and sanguinacciö (cooked pig’s blood flavoured with sugar, chocolate, fruit, etc.). Those same folks would likely also find many other of our traditional favourites disturbing, including ones which have within my lifetime come to be appreciated by increasingly broader audiences; here I have in mind such items as lumachë or babbaluscë (land snails), marruzellë (small sea snails), scungillë (conch) and even our beloved calamarë: yes, that’s right, I can remember quite well a time when outside of decidedly serious ethnic settings (Italian but, of course, also Greek, Portuguese, etc.), squid (and also octopus and cuttlefish), were for the most part not to be seen among polite company in this country. That squid are now sold almost everywhere (though there are still no McSquidbits) is not necessarily good, since most are treated badly and the price of the noble and flexible writers’ friend in a fish market is no longer a matter of the mere pittance it was throughout my youth.

    Sciurë ‘e cucuzziellë, fiori di zucchina, zucchini flowers, marrow blooms, all in all, surely not such a challenging foodstuff as cloven sheep’s heads, were nonetheless also regarded with a degree of suspicion once upon a time. Nowadays, these brilliantly colourful and very tasty reproductive organs of the squash plant are still not every day, all-American fare but thanks to their appearance not only in fancy, expensive restaurants offering Italian and Provençal dishes but also in many Mexican restaurants, from an exalted temple of taste such as Topolobampo to a casual corner joint such as Kappy’s, they are gradually penetrating the culinary consciousness of connaisseurs of all stripes.

    After many, many years of living in gardenless situations, I finally have again the opportunity to flex my green thumb. And with the help of all the gods –– though most especially of Jove Father –– we have been blessed with what surely will be a bumper crop of marrow blooms. Last week, we harvested a first, small batch. Eccoli!

    Image

    With this small batch, I made a pasta dish alla fantasia, which I called “e laganellë ‘nduratë ch’ ‘e sciure ’e cucuzziellë,” that is, ‘gilded noodles with marrow blooms’ and the gilding was twofold:

    Image

    The basis of the condiment to the noodles was a portion of fairly small dice of zucchini with a small amount of garlic and some minced prosciutto sautéed gently in (garishly green) olive oil and a touch of a secret bovine product. A small amount of water in which a good pinch of saffron had been steeped was then added to the pan and reduced, then a container of Italian panna da cucina was added with a little further cooking for purposes of reduction. At the appropriate moment, the laganellë were drained and added to the pan to be stirred in with the cream sauce. Finally, as the condiment and noodles were mixed together in the pan under lowest heat, more bits of prosciutto were added, as were slivers of the baby zucchini that had been attached to some of the flowers, and the flowers themselves, which had been cut into quarters lengthwise. Black pepper and parmigiano were available at table for facultative application.

    Che saporito!

    Antonius

    P.S. La prouchano vegado fasèm des bignets de flour de cougourdeto à la sestiano. (Next time, Provençal flower-fritters.)
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #2 - June 29th, 2005, 3:33 pm
    Post #2 - June 29th, 2005, 3:33 pm Post #2 - June 29th, 2005, 3:33 pm
    Antonius,

    A cookbook written by a dear friend of my mother, publication date 1979, has recipes for squash blossoms. Considering the time it takes to develop, taste test, recipe test, and assemble recipes into a cookbook, we had been eating them for over a decade then. They were a well-known ingredient among the local Italian community.

    She also has in that book a recipe for tiger lily buds. These are a well-known ingredient, dried, in Chinese cooking (think mu-shu). She cautions that, like all wild foods, you should not overindulge else you're liable to have an effect at the posterior end (although you said it so much better in a previous post about Belgian alcoholic beverages).

    I was fortunate for over 10 years to have a large patch of tiger lilies that I could gather and cook. I miss that patch, although for the time I had it, I was intent on keeping it at bay lest it encroach on my herb garden. Rhubarb was the key...A patch of tiger lilies, a rhubarb hedge, a (relatively) formal herb garden.

    Even tiger lilies won't mess with rhubarb.

    Congratulations on your flores de calabaza. If you find that you have problems with the plants anytime soon, do not be discouraged (all true gardeners live to garden another year).

    Chicago has terrible problems with some sort of cutworm that attacks summer squashes. This frequently causes the plant to die in early to midsummer. I learned this in an Ag Extension class, and the suggested solution was to do succesion planting, timed around the life-cycle of the pest. I'm sure if you called up the Ag Extension they could give you the dates.

    This is not a problem in places like Colorado, where Himself and His Brother once carried a zucchini across the park to Grandpa's house to weigh it, it was 40 pounds.

    When we lived in Colorado, we grew the sweetest mountain beets and ate a lot of zucchini bread when we went down into Denver.

    How's your chervil doing?
  • Post #3 - June 29th, 2005, 3:37 pm
    Post #3 - June 29th, 2005, 3:37 pm Post #3 - June 29th, 2005, 3:37 pm
    Annieb,

    What is your favored recipe for tiger lily as mine are blooming furiously at the moment.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #4 - June 29th, 2005, 3:45 pm
    Post #4 - June 29th, 2005, 3:45 pm Post #4 - June 29th, 2005, 3:45 pm
    If they're blooming furiously, it may be too late. You should pick them when they are small, just under 2 inches, mostly green and just beginning to show orange.

    Throw them in a skillet with a bit of water. You can dress them with butter, or add them into an omelet (my favorite) or do whatever you wish.

    Just don't eat too many, all at once, the first time:-)
  • Post #5 - June 29th, 2005, 3:46 pm
    Post #5 - June 29th, 2005, 3:46 pm Post #5 - June 29th, 2005, 3:46 pm
    Also, in order to get a good crop, you need a good sized patch. Daylilies are named that for a reason--lots of buds, each one only stays open for a day.
  • Post #6 - June 29th, 2005, 4:06 pm
    Post #6 - June 29th, 2005, 4:06 pm Post #6 - June 29th, 2005, 4:06 pm
    A-

    Thank you. Zucchini flowers are my Rosebud; I do not have a stronger or more vivid food memory than picking them with my mom and eating them once dipped in an egg batter and fried in olive oil.

    One of my first questions on the other board years back concerned where and when to find them.

    This has been particularly good zucchini weather, and I have a nice patch that just started to flower wildly yesterday. Tonight I will be frying my first summer blossoms.

    Salud.
  • Post #7 - June 29th, 2005, 5:57 pm
    Post #7 - June 29th, 2005, 5:57 pm Post #7 - June 29th, 2005, 5:57 pm
    Antonius,

    Great sounding and looking creations.

    Favorite new things to do with flores de calabaza:

    1. Flores de calabaza stuffed with a cheese/chile poblano mousse and covered with a tomato sauce

    2. Custard (budin) of shrimp and flores de calabaza covered with chile guajillo sauce

    3. Crepes stuffed with cheese and flores de calabaza

    Let me know if you want recipes.

    Bill/SFNM
  • Post #8 - June 30th, 2005, 8:15 am
    Post #8 - June 30th, 2005, 8:15 am Post #8 - June 30th, 2005, 8:15 am
    Annie:

    I'll be keeping on eye out for these cutworms. Amata and I did a little research and are afraid we already have seen a couple of adults (in delicto flagrante) on one of our plants. Time will tell.

    I really don't remember zucchini flowers ever being even mentioned except in the context of Italian(-American) home kitchens. Back in the 60's and 70's, I doubt they even turned up much in fancy restaurants back east. And to this day, one doesn't see much of them outside of the barrios (in part due to the difficulties of getting them in good shape from plant to plate, I'm sure).

    Ahimé, no chervil... But we intend on doing some more planting and will look into that possibility once again. We also somehow managed to fail to plant any tarragon. Arrrggghhh.

    ***

    Jeff:

    That's a pretty swell childhood food memory to have.

    I'm sure the flowers are for sale on occasion around town but I never come across them. The only reasonable solution is to grow them. And that way one has total control on precisely when to pick them, with regard to size, relationship to the actual squash on the females, and with regard to time of day. For fritters (beignets) and all recipes involving stuffing, picking the blooms in early morning, when they are fully extended and open is best.

    ***

    Bill:

    Good to hear from you, Bill. All three sound fabulous but the second one seems the furthest from things I know; if you would be willing to share that one, I'd be most grateful. But I'm also very curious about the cheese/poblano mousse...

    ***

    There are many connexions between Mexican and southern Italian food habits and one of a number of things that amazed and delighted me when I moved to Chicago was finding out that zucchini flowers were well known and (relatively speaking) commonly available in some parts of town. In this regard, I call attention to the very tasty quesadillas de flor de calabaza made at Kappy's down in La Villita (link):


    Image

    Buen provecho,
    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #9 - June 30th, 2005, 8:57 am
    Post #9 - June 30th, 2005, 8:57 am Post #9 - June 30th, 2005, 8:57 am
    Tanti auguri, Andogne. That looks terrific. I have to try your recipe, but I haven't seen any scurilli at Caputo's this year. Have you seen them in any markets recently?

    In Naples, I have seen the scurilli cooked when they are still green, sauteed, blended with tempered eggs and cheese, then tossed with perciatelli.

    JeffB, when you make scurilli fritti again, you might consider making a pasta cresciuta batter and stuffing the scurilli with a little ricotta or mozzarella and a tiny slice of anchovy. 'O sfizio.
  • Post #10 - June 30th, 2005, 6:54 pm
    Post #10 - June 30th, 2005, 6:54 pm Post #10 - June 30th, 2005, 6:54 pm
    Marrow Blooms II
    Bignets de flours de cougourdeto farcits ambè froumage

    Yesterday evening we made up a batch of little 'beignets' of zucchini flowers, following a Provençal method (essentially identical to what is sometimes done in Italy), which involves dipping them in a very simple batter (flour, eggs, salt, water) and frying them in olive oil, much as JeffB described above. In each flower, we put a little stick of basic melting cheese (Chihuahua/Munster type). They didn't look especially beautiful -- unless of course one generally finds fried things in and of themselves beautiful -- but they tasted very good:

    Image

    They made for an excellent antipasto, as it were, before a bowl of mafaldine in a mushroom ragù.

    Next time, Choey, maybe I'll try using a pasta cresciuta (it's time to buy some yeast from Masi's anyway, though I'm not too keen on getting the deep-frier out this time of year).

    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #11 - June 30th, 2005, 10:00 pm
    Post #11 - June 30th, 2005, 10:00 pm Post #11 - June 30th, 2005, 10:00 pm
    Antonius,

    Be clear, the experience of squash blossoms was through friends and neighbors who were Italian, of both my Ma's and her friend the cookbook writer. Neighbor women who shared child-rearing advice, gardening advice, cooking tips. In a time and place where the Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans were oftentimes growing tomatoes and grapes and squash in the front yard, if that's where the sun hit. And my mother liked to garden, but perhaps just as importantly, to visit with neighbor ladies and expand her horizons. And Ma grew up during the Great Depression in Detroit, where thrift and economy and good food were very carefully balanced. (And leavened with a good dose of jazz music:-)

    While in other parts of our NY town lawn grass ruled, and having vegetables in your front yard was cause for ridicule, Ma was always looking for new friends and neighbors and also bargains. I will spare you for now how she talked to the Greek proprietors of the local fishmarket, where in the 1970s Japanese wives came from 30 miles away to buy fish. Let's just say we ate well off of fish collars.

    Molly's recipe for squash blossoms is to stuff them with a rice salad, really a pilaf, the oil seasoned with garlic and rosemary and then when the rice is cooked, some freshly chopped chives added. Salt and pepper, al gusto, of course.

    Then good olive oil, infused again with garlic and rosemary, which are removed, and the blossoms stuffed with rice added, no breading, no nothing, just sauteed briefly and served (of course) room temperature. Molly suggests a fresh blossom as garnish.

    Thirty years later, I might add a light tomato sauce, or a tomato vinagrette. And I find I am less fond of rosemary than I used to be, so I might substitute thyme.

    Again, if those cutworms start to cause damage, pick the squash, yank out the plants, (start some new ones in little pots), and then plant new seedlings.

    It appears we will have plenty of hot weather this year, and the life-cycle of the cutworm is such that it will not trouble your second crop. Which might be all blossom and no squash, but I could live with that.
  • Post #12 - July 1st, 2005, 7:09 am
    Post #12 - July 1st, 2005, 7:09 am Post #12 - July 1st, 2005, 7:09 am
    annieb wrote:... In a time and place where the Italian immigrants and Italian-Americans were oftentimes growing tomatoes and grapes and squash in the front yard, if that's where the sun hit...


    That reminds me of the following... Back in the late 60's and 70's the Italian head groundskeeper at the Orioles' old ballpark (Memorial Stadium) had an allegedly amazing patch of tomatoes growing just beyond the outfield wall...

    While in other parts of our NY town lawn grass ruled...


    I didn't know you were a fellow New Netherlander... With that ethnic mix within 30 miles, were you on the Island? or up the Hudson? ... (I guess somewhere further up state is possible too, though I don't know of Japanese settlement up/out there)...

    Molly's recipe for squash blossoms is to stuff them with a rice salad, really a pilaf, the oil seasoned with garlic and rosemary and then when the rice is cooked, some freshly chopped chives added. Salt and pepper, al gusto, of course. Then good olive oil, infused again with garlic and rosemary, which are removed, and the blossoms stuffed with rice added, no breading, no nothing, just sauteed briefly and served (of course) room temperature. Molly suggests a fresh blossom as garnish...


    A very nice recipe. If luck continues and there are lots of vegetables coming out of the garden this summer, I think stuffing is an excellent way to go to add some variety. I'll try that recipe...

    Again, if those cutworms start to cause damage, pick the squash, yank out the plants, (start some new ones in little pots), and then plant new seedlings.


    Thanks for the advice... I hate to say this but I'm afraid that would be traumatic... I've grown emotionally attached to my little buddies...

    :)

    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #13 - July 1st, 2005, 7:28 am
    Post #13 - July 1st, 2005, 7:28 am Post #13 - July 1st, 2005, 7:28 am
    A-

    Start some new plants now. It's amazing how easy it is to tear out plants that are in rapid decline. I once tore out my entire potato patch after Colorado potato beetles got them, and I actually felt better for it. That's saying a lot for someone who regularly suffers from Potato Deprivation Psychosis. If you start the plants now, when you put them in the ground they'll grow in leaps and bounds.

    I went to jr. high and hs in NY, on the Sound but not the Island. The kind of town where you couldn't just join the volunteer fire department, you had to be born into it. My family lived there for another 6 or 7 years after I left home, so I would visit regularly, and come back to the Midwest carrying fresh mozzarella, calzone, etc.

    And my sister married a hometown boy. (Actually both my sibs married Abruzzese-Americans). My BIL's cousin is married to the son and inheritor of the best pizza parlor in the world, the likes of which you will not find hereabouts :P
  • Post #14 - July 1st, 2005, 12:57 pm
    Post #14 - July 1st, 2005, 12:57 pm Post #14 - July 1st, 2005, 12:57 pm
    Last weekend I had the stuffed squash blossom appetizer from the list of specials at Salpicon: three blossoms stuffed with cheese, then lightly battered and fried until they puffed up like beignets. They came with two different chili-based sauces, one red, the other green. I neglected to take notes on the sauces, unfortunately, because I don't remember the chilis involved; the dish is not on the specials list this week. The fritters were light and delicious with a good balance of blossom, coating, and cheese filling. I'd be tempted to go back just for them if they were still on the menu.
  • Post #15 - July 1st, 2005, 2:36 pm
    Post #15 - July 1st, 2005, 2:36 pm Post #15 - July 1st, 2005, 2:36 pm
    Edible flowers and buds don't seem that strange. After all, what are broccoli and cauliflower?

    Other uses:
    * Lily buds in Mu Shu Pork. I think these are usually found dried, and probably similar to the tiger lilies mentioned above in their uses
    * Nasturtiums in salads
    * Chive blossoms in salads or soups -- a great burst of chivey flavor
    * Dare we forget rosewater?

    Anyone know if strawberry blossoms are edible? I never get the fruit, birds and bunnies like 'em less ripe than me.
  • Post #16 - July 1st, 2005, 8:07 pm
    Post #16 - July 1st, 2005, 8:07 pm Post #16 - July 1st, 2005, 8:07 pm
    One caveat on eating flowers: those with allergies or asthma are told to be very careful because of the pollen, which is usually the trigger.

    With zucchini flowers, you can easily avoid the pollen in home-grown flowers. It is less easy in ones you find in farmers markets, because they are often picked still closed, or have wilted. I will generally only buy them if they are open and I usually remove the stamen/pistils then and there.

    With nasturtiums, I don't throw in the whole blossom, but remove the petals.

    Marigolds are also a nice edible flower if you grow the old fashioned single flowered variety (tagetes? My botanical latin escapes me right now). They can make a very nice pasta sauce that is NOT a fake saffron but a flavor all its own.

    A good trick is to plant these marigolds (they are short and stay that way) around your tomatoes, it is an ancient trick against pests (of the insect variety, alas not rabbits or squirrels:-(
  • Post #17 - July 1st, 2005, 8:46 pm
    Post #17 - July 1st, 2005, 8:46 pm Post #17 - July 1st, 2005, 8:46 pm
    Also edible are violets, but I especially search out the young leaves, which are very high in vitamin C and taste like beet greens. The flowers themselves I can take or leave.
  • Post #18 - August 11th, 2005, 7:42 am
    Post #18 - August 11th, 2005, 7:42 am Post #18 - August 11th, 2005, 7:42 am
    LTH,

    Ellen and I had the pleasure of Harry V and his lovely bride's company last evening at Sabatino's. Particularly good was the very reasonably priced Wednesday lobster special, Schatz MacArthur's strip steak, Schatz is Harry V's wife's LTH member name, and an appetizer of squash blossom.

    The flavor of the squash blossom was just slightly marred by an overly eggy frying batter, but even a slightly eggy fried squash blossom is pretty damn good.

    Sabatino's Squash Blossom
    Image

    Without a doubt the best squash blossoms I've had the pleasure of eating in the last few years were at MAG's house. She stuffed them with a lightly herbal goat cheese.

    Image
    Image

    Gave them a quick dunk in batter.
    Image

    Deep fry.
    Image

    Resulting in Squash Blossom perfection.
    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #19 - August 11th, 2005, 8:17 am
    Post #19 - August 11th, 2005, 8:17 am Post #19 - August 11th, 2005, 8:17 am
    As jealous as I am of those squash blossoms, gary, I'm even more jealous of Melissa's infrared thermometer. Those things are so cool.
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #20 - August 11th, 2005, 10:05 am
    Post #20 - August 11th, 2005, 10:05 am Post #20 - August 11th, 2005, 10:05 am
    Gary, the Sabatino squash blossoms look 100%, exactly the same way I ate them with, and learned to make them from, the Casertane ladies in my family. Doesn't mean it's the best way to make them, but possibly the way that would make sense to certain Italians.

    The squash blossoms and the strip steak highlight what makes Sabatino's one of my favorites. It is, most nights, both a very good Italian-American and Italian restaurant. I mean really, most folks are there to eat lasagne and whatnot, but around the edges you have these nicely cured meats, inetersting seafood preps and seasonal stuff like zucchini flowers.

    On the subject of squash blossoms, I bought a bundle from Nichol's earlier this week. 5 bucks for about a dozen was steep, but heck, I've got a real soft spot for these and my home grown supplies are dwindling. I assumed they were zucchini blossoms, but when I got them home I wasn't so sure. They didn'y have the herbal smell I associate with squash blossoms, but instead had an almost cloying fennel odor. They looked great, but tasted just ok. (Used them as a garnish for pasta with zucchini, onion, Romano, and egg.)

    Any of you gardeners know what might have been the reason for my licorice flowers?
  • Post #21 - August 11th, 2005, 7:31 pm
    Post #21 - August 11th, 2005, 7:31 pm Post #21 - August 11th, 2005, 7:31 pm
    My Finnish-American grandmother made these for me as a child once. As I recall they looked very much like the ones in the photo from Sabatino's. She lived on a farm in the Upper Peninsula (near Amasa and Crystal Falls) and I would guess (now) that she learned the recipe from some of the Italian-Americans settled in the area. I have a fond memory of picking the blossoms with her and being very surprised at how good they tasted (I was quite put off at first to eat a flower). I need to see them out again...
  • Post #22 - August 17th, 2005, 11:48 pm
    Post #22 - August 17th, 2005, 11:48 pm Post #22 - August 17th, 2005, 11:48 pm
    gleam wrote:As jealous as I am of those squash blossoms, gary, I'm even more jealous of Melissa's infrared thermometer. Those things are so cool.

    Ed,

    Agreed, I was taking the temp of everything in sight with the infrared, including the dogs....well, never mind. :)

    I was thinking of getting one, but am afraid I will start using it with BBQ and loose my touch. :roll:

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #23 - August 15th, 2006, 9:18 am
    Post #23 - August 15th, 2006, 9:18 am Post #23 - August 15th, 2006, 9:18 am
    Fiori di zucchine fritti

    This year I've had bumper crops of zucchini and zucchini blossoms; for most of June and July the daily yield was anywhere from 5-20 blossoms and I used them in a wide variety of dishes, some traditional, some of my own invention. This one is pretty traditional; here's a recipe in the style of an Italian cookbook:

    Clean the flowers and make a small incision in order to remove the internal organs. Fill each one with an anchovy and some fresh ricotta. Make a batter with flour and water in the usual way. Dip each flower into the batter and fry in abundant hot olive oil.

    Ingredients.
    Image

    Stuffed flowers frying.
    Image

    Fried flowers being served.
    Image

    The filling used here is a nice one and generally speaking, the combination of a mild and milky cheese, such as ricotta or fior di latte, with anchovies is really delicious.

    Antonius

    Links to other recipes and cooking notes by this writer: http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=55649#55649
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #24 - August 15th, 2006, 9:36 am
    Post #24 - August 15th, 2006, 9:36 am Post #24 - August 15th, 2006, 9:36 am
    A,

    Holy cow, a daily yield of 5-20 blossoms is incredible (or so it seems to me).

    I used to buy squash blossoms from Nichol's at the Oak Park Farmer's Market (like five for a buck, I think), and I love the way they look, but as far as flavor...gosh, I had to strain to detect a taste. Could very well be just me, though it's interesting that you mentioned the excellent balance of anchovy and cheese, but not the taste of the blossom itself. Are they basically just a pretty package? If so, well, maybe that's enough.

    Whatever, a very mouth-watering post, as always.

    Hammond
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #25 - August 15th, 2006, 9:46 am
    Post #25 - August 15th, 2006, 9:46 am Post #25 - August 15th, 2006, 9:46 am
    Antonius (or anyone else), do you think pumpkin blossoms would work like zucchini blossoms--stuffed, dipped and fried? We've got a bunch of pumpkin plants with, so far, all male blossoms. They open up for a few days and then drop off. It would be nice to be able to use them for something. Any advice would be much appreciated.

    Kristen
  • Post #26 - August 15th, 2006, 10:04 am
    Post #26 - August 15th, 2006, 10:04 am Post #26 - August 15th, 2006, 10:04 am
    kl5 wrote:Antonius (or anyone else), do you think pumpkin blossoms would work like zucchini blossoms--stuffed, dipped and fried? We've got a bunch of pumpkin plants with, so far, all male blossoms. They open up for a few days and then drop off. It would be nice to be able to use them for something. Any advice would be much appreciated.

    Kristen


    To paraphrase a prelate who liked wine...
    Yes! Yes! Yes!
    I know from recipes that they are so used in Italy and France and, though I've never grown pumpkins and never used their blossoms, I doubt they could be very different in flavour (such as it is) and so on.

    Are they particularly big? Some of my squash blossoms this year were enormous... I have a picture somewhere...

    Image

    Image

    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #27 - August 15th, 2006, 10:23 am
    Post #27 - August 15th, 2006, 10:23 am Post #27 - August 15th, 2006, 10:23 am
    David Hammond wrote:Holy cow, a daily yield of 5-20 blossoms is incredible (or so it seems to me).
    I used to buy squash blossoms from Nichol's at the Oak Park Farmer's Market (like five for a buck, I think), and I love the way they look, but as far as flavor...gosh, I had to strain to detect a taste. Could very well be just me, though it's interesting that you mentioned the excellent balance of anchovy and cheese, but not the taste of the blossom itself. Are they basically just a pretty package? If so, well, maybe that's enough.

    Whatever, a very mouth-watering post, as always.


    David,

    You're definitely right that they are more on the mild or bland side of the flavour scale than on the robust side. When stuffed and fried in good olive oil, their flavour is pretty much overwhelmed but then in a decidedly good way. Of course, the fresher they are, the better, and if one makes a dish and uses a whole lot of them, the mild flavour comes through much better. Given what they cost in the markets when I've seen them, the only practical way to have sufficient quantites is to grow them on one's own. I had four large plants, two of which where enormous at their peak.

    So, to get some flavour, use a lot of them and make them with other things that won't overwhelm them. Even so, they are often enough something I use for visual enhancement and in that rôle they are magnificent...

    I especially like them with eggs, with or without some sauteed zucchini itself...

    Image
    Image
    Image

    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #28 - August 15th, 2006, 10:27 am
    Post #28 - August 15th, 2006, 10:27 am Post #28 - August 15th, 2006, 10:27 am
    Antonius wrote:Are they particularly big? Some of my squash blossoms this year were enormous... I have a picture somewhere...

    Image

    Image

    Antonius


    Wow, not that big, no. About four inches long and they never open up fully like in your pictures. Thanks for the encouragement, I will definitely try it this weekend.

    You mention an incision to facilitate removal of the innards. Not having one in front of me, I can't picture how this would work. Would you mind splaining this process a bit more? Thanks, Kristen
  • Post #29 - August 15th, 2006, 10:48 am
    Post #29 - August 15th, 2006, 10:48 am Post #29 - August 15th, 2006, 10:48 am
    kl5 wrote:Wow, not that big, no. About four inches long and they never open up fully like in your pictures. Thanks for the encouragement, I will definitely try it this weekend.

    You mention an incision to facilitate removal of the innards. Not having one in front of me, I can't picture how this would work. Would you mind splaining this process a bit more? Thanks, Kristen


    Kristen,

    To get the flowers in a nice open state, you have to pick them in the early morning. They open up at some point past the middle of the night -- I think I've seen them open ca. 4 a.m. a few times though maybe it was a little later, and they stay open until it starts to get hot, I guess, at which point they close tightly (sufficiently so to imprison bugs). For stuffing, it's best to get them a) when they're not fully open but when they're young and close up without twisting around. After a couple of days, when they close, they seem to twist around and get knotted up.

    With a good sized blossom, it's easy to take a sharp knife and make an incision lengthwise from the base of the flower upward (need not go all the way if the blossom is large), an incision large enough to get your fingers in to pluck out the naughty bits (the external sexual organs, as it were: male pistils, female stamen, I guess; pull off the spiky sepals from around the base of the male flowers, at least on the zucchini blossoms). That should also be large enough a hole then to get some cheese and anchovy in there. If I have some good ones tomorrow, I'll try to take a picture or two, though the we-evils have struck and ravaged my plants now and I'm only getting a couple of blossoms a day from the one survivor at this point.

    Please report on how the pumpkin blossoms turn out!

    A
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #30 - August 15th, 2006, 5:51 pm
    Post #30 - August 15th, 2006, 5:51 pm Post #30 - August 15th, 2006, 5:51 pm
    kl5 wrote:Antonius (or anyone else), do you think pumpkin blossoms would work like zucchini blossoms--stuffed, dipped and fried? We've got a bunch of pumpkin plants with, so far, all male blossoms. They open up for a few days and then drop off. It would be nice to be able to use them for something. Any advice would be much appreciated.


    Pumpkin blossoms are fabulous. Much 'meatier' than the squash blossoms. A treat whenever I could get them in India.
    Try, without any stuffing, a batter of chick-pea flour (besan), seasoned with salt, a touch of red chili powder and a teeny pinch of baking soda (for enhanced crispiness; or use some club soda instead of the baking powder and water) - usually some nigella (onion seeds) is included in the batter. The batter should only thinly coat the blossom. This batter is generally used for vegetables in Bengal.

    Hammond, maybe to get more of the flavour of the blossom itself try it without the stuffing (as above).

    Antonius, those blossoms look huge. I asked and got some from my Sat. morning farmers mkt but they were quite small. Maybe I should request when they pick them out

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