Fiori di Zucca al Forno, Ripiene di Patate, Formaggio Blu, Erba Cipollina Cinese & Menta
Baked Zucchini Blossoms with Mashed Potato, Blue Cheese, Chinese Chives & Mint
As usual today, I just could not resist the zucchini blossoms when I saw them at the market hall... Pretty predictable, eh? Don't hate me though! At least I always try to make something new and different with them each time!
I have filled zucchini blossoms with potato and cheese before, but this evening I decided to try a Bavaria blue cheese- a very strong taste, but then again, in Rome, the traditional filling is mozzarella with anchovies... So I thought to myself... Why not?
Small and delicate they are...but if you pack them with intense flavor and get the balance right, you can make them into such a wonderful little meal- and it is such a simple thing to do!
There is none of that nasty deep-fat frying or the smell, hassle and all of the calories that go with it... So cool to make something so delicious and for it be healthy to boot as well!
This was just a one-man meal as usual... 5 zucchini blossoms- 4 with zucchini a attached and one without, 2 small potatoes, about 1 tablespoon (2") of blue cheese, 1 sprig of Chinese chives, a little fresh mint, salt, pepper, olive oil and a few cherry tomatoes on the side.
I think what made this work so especially well, we're the Chinese chives... They have a very mild, garlicky flavor, similar to ramps and sooo good! Just the right amount of richness and depth of flavor to make the mild potatoes and intense cheese harmonize with the fresh mint... And al such great ingredients to combine with zucchini!
The potatoes need to be peeled and boiled of course, then mashed and stirred on the still hot stove, to make sure that they dry out a little and are nice and firm- excess water in there would not be a good thing as the cheese becomes very soft when warm!
Add the cheese and the chopped chives and mint right onto the hot potatoes and stir together whilst there is enough heat left to melt the cheese and let it blend in thoroughly.
Season with plenty of pepper, but no salt... The cheese takes care of that for you!
In the meantime, rinse the zucchini blossoms, snap out the stamens from the inside and then spoon a little of the filling into each one. It depends on how large they are of course, but 2 teaspoons is a good measure... If you add too much, you run the risk of them bursting open.
Maybe you can see from the picture, but one thing that I did was to prick the zucchini will the way around with a fork- this speeds up the cooking process.
I drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled the zucchini with salt (not the blossoms as they have enough seasoning inside) and added plenty of pepper before popping them into the oven for 5 minutes at 200 C.
Make sure to turn them over early, to avoid the chances of them sticking to your baking dish, then season again from the other side. I found the best way to flip them was to cup the blossom with a spoon and to twist the zucchini itself by hand- they are rather delicate and you want them to neither stick nor break of course!
Bake from the other side for a further 10 minutes until sizzling hot a lightly brown... Smelling divine begging to be eaten!
Allow them to cool for just a minute or so before attempting to lift them- again, use a spoon to do so as the potato and cheese filling will be a little soft.
In the meantime, you can halve a few cherry tomatoes to serve on the side as a nice, fruity contrast.
And yes, they did taste as good as they look! I just really, really wish I had bought more of them... They were soooo delicious!
And that rich and savory and indeed creamy potato filling, with the chives... Well let me just say it was nothing short of divine! But totally!
Baked Zucchini Blossoms with Mashed Potato, Blue Cheese, Chinese Chives & Mint
As usual today, I just could not resist the zucchini blossoms when I saw them at the market hall... Pretty predictable, eh? Don't hate me though! At least I always try to make something new and different with them each time!
I have filled zucchini blossoms with potato and cheese before, but this evening I decided to try a Bavaria blue cheese- a very strong taste, but then again, in Rome, the traditional filling is mozzarella with anchovies... So I thought to myself... Why not?
Small and delicate they are...but if you pack them with intense flavor and get the balance right, you can make them into such a wonderful little meal- and it is such a simple thing to do!
There is none of that nasty deep-fat frying or the smell, hassle and all of the calories that go with it... So cool to make something so delicious and for it be healthy to boot as well!
This was just a one-man meal as usual... 5 zucchini blossoms- 4 with zucchini a attached and one without, 2 small potatoes, about 1 tablespoon (2") of blue cheese, 1 sprig of Chinese chives, a little fresh mint, salt, pepper, olive oil and a few cherry tomatoes on the side.
I think what made this work so especially well, we're the Chinese chives... They have a very mild, garlicky flavor, similar to ramps and sooo good! Just the right amount of richness and depth of flavor to make the mild potatoes and intense cheese harmonize with the fresh mint... And al such great ingredients to combine with zucchini!
The potatoes need to be peeled and boiled of course, then mashed and stirred on the still hot stove, to make sure that they dry out a little and are nice and firm- excess water in there would not be a good thing as the cheese becomes very soft when warm!
Add the cheese and the chopped chives and mint right onto the hot potatoes and stir together whilst there is enough heat left to melt the cheese and let it blend in thoroughly.
Season with plenty of pepper, but no salt... The cheese takes care of that for you!
In the meantime, rinse the zucchini blossoms, snap out the stamens from the inside and then spoon a little of the filling into each one. It depends on how large they are of course, but 2 teaspoons is a good measure... If you add too much, you run the risk of them bursting open.
Maybe you can see from the picture, but one thing that I did was to prick the zucchini will the way around with a fork- this speeds up the cooking process.
I drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled the zucchini with salt (not the blossoms as they have enough seasoning inside) and added plenty of pepper before popping them into the oven for 5 minutes at 200 C.
Make sure to turn them over early, to avoid the chances of them sticking to your baking dish, then season again from the other side. I found the best way to flip them was to cup the blossom with a spoon and to twist the zucchini itself by hand- they are rather delicate and you want them to neither stick nor break of course!
Bake from the other side for a further 10 minutes until sizzling hot a lightly brown... Smelling divine begging to be eaten!
Allow them to cool for just a minute or so before attempting to lift them- again, use a spoon to do so as the potato and cheese filling will be a little soft.
In the meantime, you can halve a few cherry tomatoes to serve on the side as a nice, fruity contrast.
And yes, they did taste as good as they look! I just really, really wish I had bought more of them... They were soooo delicious!
And that rich and savory and indeed creamy potato filling, with the chives... Well let me just say it was nothing short of divine! But totally!
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