A final taste of Summer!!!

Squash Blossoms or Fiori di Zucca as they are known in Italy…beautiful, ephemeral and the quintessential symbol of Summer and early Fall. They are likely gone now but if you are able to get your hands on some this is the preparation I recommend:

Ingredients (serves 6):
-12 large squash blossoms
-1 cup of plain goat cheese
-1/4 cup of milk
-1 small whole egg
-salt & pepper
-1/2 pound of beautiful cherry tomatoes (yellow or red)
-salt, olive oil and red wine vinegar for the tomatoe puree

Take your goat cheese at room temperature and mix with the milk and egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the stamen or yellow stub inside each blossom. You may need to gently tear the blossom open to reach the stamen. This is okay and we can repair later.

Stuff each blossom with a small, scant amount of goat cheese. Press all sides closed to seal the blossom as best you can. Once we sautee some cheese may leak out but it’s perfectly all right.

Wash the tomatoes and remove any green stems. Dry and put into a food processor. Add approximately 1/2 cup of extra virgen olive oil (note: if all the tomatoes do not fit into the processor, then puree in batches and divide up the oil and vinegar accordingly) and 1 tablespoon or 2 of red wine vinegar. Add 1/2 tablespoon of salt and puree until fine. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and refrigerate (covered) for at least 1 hour.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sautee pan over high heat. Once hot, add your stuffed blossoms and sautee for 2 minutes per side until the cheese is melted through. Spoon a few tablespoons of cold tomatoe gazpacho puree onto each plate. Place 2 blossoms on each plate. Serve immediately. Buon appetito!

Add comment September 4th, 2006