Recently in garden Category

(photo: simple chicken breast and pesto sauce)

(photo: basil, parsley, and Japanese eggplant from our Italian garden in New Jersey)

(photo: via iPhone, local persimmons)


(photo: via iPhone: sage drying in NJ basement)

I snapped these two photos with my iPhone earlier in the week and I really liked the deep Fall colors in the orange persimmon and green sage. 

The persimmons are courtesy of my mother who can grow almost anything in her tiny New Jersey garden, including a few fig and lemon trees (both trees need to be moved indoors during the winter months).  The drying sage comes via my mother-in-law who was especially excited to show me her collection drying in the basement (the aroma was wonderful!). 

(photo: fresh frittelle di fiori di zucca, or zucchini fritterr; most Italians cosume this little treasures as a pre-dinner type of meal)

Michelle over at BleedingEspresso.com recently posted an excellent recipe for Fried Zucchini Flowers and it inspired me to look through my photo archive and post a few Frittelle photos.

Michelle's recipe is similar to the recipe my mother has been using for nearly 30 years here in the States, however my mother's version does include a few more ingredients (namely, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh parsley).  My mother's technique also includes "flattening" out the batter when it hits the hot oil so that thin frittelle are produced.  Note, you can also simply batter and fry a single, whole, zucchini flower (I prefer chopping the flowers to release more flavor).

For many Calabrians the zucchni flower is the best part of the vegetable (in fact, and to be perfectly honest, zucchini are often seen as "second rate" vegetables in Calabria, don't ask me to explain this view but I think it has something to do with the abundance of zucchini during the summer months and the same can be said about other fruits and vegetables in the region).

Here's my mother's recipe:

- 1-2 cups of roughly chopped zucchini flowers (with the stem removed and interior material removed)
- 1.5 cups of flour
- 2 tablespoons of baking powder
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- 3/4 tablespoons of salt
- 1 pinch of black pepper

Oil for frying (you can use olive oil but I think it's a big waste of a precious oil, try an oil with a higher smoking point that is less expensive like Canola, for example)

The technique is fairly simple: start by mixing the flour, baking powder and salt together. Grab another bowl and mix the milk, egg and zucchini flowers.  Combine the dry ingredients well and fry until crispy and golden (about 4 minutes if your oil is at the correct temperature). 
   

(photo: harvesting zucchini flowers outside of Bagnara Calabra in the village of Pellegrina, my parent's birthplace)

I remember walking through the Calabrian countryside with my grandfather as a boy when he suddenly feel to his knees and plucked a few pieces of what I thought was simple green grass from the ground. I, of course, thought he was just being his usual pazzo (crazy) nonno, but what he found were dandelion greens, prized for their earthy, minerally, and zesty flavor.   

(Photo: French bread from Balthazar Bakery)