Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms with a Lightly Browned Cheese Sauce, or Fiori di Zucca Ripieni e Gratinati: Zucchini blossoms, because of their delicacy, are an excellent foil for chefs. Here's an elegant recipe that will serve 6:
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** The Zucchini Blossoms **
- 20 zucchini blossoms, stemmed, pistils removed, washed, and gently patted dry
- 8 ounces (200 g) champignons
- A medium carrot
- 1/3 cup cream
- 10 asparagus tips
- 2 shallots
- 3 slices white bread (U.S. style loaf bread), dipped in milk
- 2 yolks
- Grated Parmigiano
- Unsalted butter (3 tablespoons)
- Olive oil (3 tablespoons)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- ** The Sauce **
- 6 ounces (weight; 150 g) clarified butter
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 yolks
- A minced mixture of fresh parsley, marjoram and thyme (about a tablespoon in all)
Preparation:
Rub the mushrooms clean (or rinse them if need be), and dice them with the carrot, asparagus tips and shallots, and sauté the mixture in a mixture of olive oil and butter that you've already heated in a pan (the amount of fat is an estimate; if need be add more). After a few minutes add the cream, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook the mixture over a gentle flame until the vegetables are done and the juices bind it all together.Transfer the mixture to a bowl and work in the moistened bread, yolks, and three tablespoons of Parmigiano, and then let it all cool.
Gather the filling into a pastry bag with a wide nozzle and fill the zucchini blossoms with it, being careful not to tear them.
You will now need to prepare the sauce: Simmer the wine, vinegar, and about 2 tablespoons of water until the mixture is reduced to a volume of about a quarter cup. Lightly beat the yolks in a bowl, then whisk in the reduced liquid, then put the mixture over a double boiler, and, working over very low heat, slowly whisk melted unsalted butter to the mixture, as if you were making mayonnaise; continue adding butter and whisking until you obtain a thick sauce, which you will want to season with the minced herbs.
Put the stuffed flowers on an elegant, oven-proof dish, drizzle the sauce over them, and broil everything just long enough to brown the sauce. Serve them hot, with a deft sparkling white wine along the lines of a Franciacorta.
