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!
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:
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.