Randi, my friend Marc is absolutely smitten with squash blossoms. Here's a rec he sent me...
English Pea, Crescenza Cheese and Zucchini Blossom Risotto
Recipe courtesy of the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto.
For this risotto, executive chef Alessandro Cartumini uses locally grown, organic zucchini and squash blossoms. Their mild flavors blend well
with the Italian-style crescenza cheese he uses from Bellwether Farms in Sonoma. Crescenza is a slightly tart, soft cow's cheese that is also
made in Piedmont, the region in northern Italy where Cartumini grew up.
For the vegetable mixture:
1/3 cup shelled English peas, blanced in boiling salted water
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 zucchini, diced
1 sprig fresh thyme
6 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
4 zucchini blossoms, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
For the garnish:
1 cup tempura flour
1 cup ice water
4 zucchini blossoms, inside removed
Oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste
For the risotto:
1 tablespoon diced shallots
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups Arborio rice (Cartumini prefers Vialone Nano brand)
4 tablespoons chardonnay or other white wine
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces crescenza cheese (see note)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
For the vegetable mixture, saute the garlic and shallots in a small amount of olive oil until just fragrant. Add the diced zucchini and thyme
and cook over medium heat until the zucchini is tender. Add basil and remove from the heat. Set aside. Reserve the sliced squash blossoms for
later.
To make the squash blossom garnish, make the tempura batter by whisking the tempura flour and ice water together. Do not overmix, the batter
will be slightly lumpy.
Heat the oil to 345 degrees. Dip the blossoms in the tempura batter, allowing excess batter to drain off, and fry in small batches until
crispy.
Once crisp, remove blossoms from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined tray. Season with salt and pepper while they're still hot and reserve.
For the risotto, begin by sweating the shallots with a small amount of butter in a saucepan. Add rice and stir until the grains appear translucent. Pour in wine and cook until the liquid has evaporated.Add enough stock to cover the rice (about 2 cups) and keep stirring.
When most of the liquid has been absorbed, add more stock and continue to stir. The rice should cook for about 18 minutes.
Continue stirring and adding stock until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the stock is gone. After 18 minutes taste the rice to make sure is cooked.
When tender, but not mushy, remove the rice from the heat and add the butter and the two cheeses.
Stir in the previously cooked zucchini, English peas, basil and sliced zucchini blossoms, mixing until well-combined and creamy. Season with
salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.
Garnish each portion with a deep-fried zucchini blossom and serve.
Serves 4.
