It’s Squash Blossoms!
You all guessed correctly- what a great job! The photo I took is of fiori di zucca, or squash blossoms that I grow in my garden. In the summer months, they are delicious just simply battered, stuffed and fried, or in this creamy risotto. This recipe is sure to please your entire family. Buon appet
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Risotto with Squash Blossoms and Zucchini
Risotto con Fiori di Zucca e Zucchine
Serves 4
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1 pound baby zucchini, blossoms attached
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup minced onion
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 ½ cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice
½ cup dry white wine
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
4 ½ - 5 cups boiling chicken stock
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, in 6 pieces
1 cup grated Parmigiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
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Separate and wash the zucchini and blossoms. Slice the zucchini in ¼ inch rounds and the blossoms crosswise into thirds.
In a wide, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and shallot until translucent. Add the zucchini and blossoms and sauté until wilted. Add the rice and toast it lightly, turning constantly, until well coated with oil. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates. Add salt, 1 cup of boiling stock, and the saffron, and cook 18-20 minutes, stirring constantly and adding stock repeatedly as previous batches are absorbed. (The finished risotto should be creamy, not milky.)
Remove from the stove and stir in the butter, incorporating it thoroughly. Then stir in the cheese, and freshly ground pepper, and serve immediately.
July 15th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
This sounds delicious! I wish I could grab a handful of these blossoms tonight for dinner! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
July 19th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Lidia
Your show and recipes bring me back to my roots. You bring love to my home through food. You remind me very much of my grandmothers, one from Sicily and one from Naples. When I miss them, I watch your video and its like they are here again. I have been successful wth all your recipes, just like the ones past down from generations before me.
ringraziarla per il cibo di fare con l’amore
Ciao
Maria
July 19th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
The blossoms are a family favorite. We make them pasta, or brown them lightly and eat plain as a snack. They are delicious and wish they were available all year.
Enjoy
July 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
7/20/09
Dear Lidia,
Our farmer’s market in Santa Monica, CA is featuring this very item. We buy it every Saturday morning when available and prepare the zucchine very similarly to your recipe except the rice for risotto (which is a good idea.) Our basic recipe is sauteing with the addition of red peppers, artichoke hearts, white wine, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and the other ingredients you mention, minus chicken stock, of course. We often take the cooked vegetables and place in an oven ready dish, topped with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and bake until the top browns. It’s a great dish and a crowd pleaser.
So many of your respondents are of Italian descent with talented grandmother cooks. Unfortunately, I am in neither category, but consider myself a good cook (at least, no one has complained so far!)
Keep up your superlative work, Lidia. Warmest regards, Joan
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Hi Lidia, this recipe sounds wonderful! I have made them in the past with a proscuitto, cheese & breadcrumb stuffing, but I deffinately will try this recipe…every time I read one of your recipes I get instantly hungry!
Ciao for now,
Pam Driver
RI
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Hi Lidia,
I just visited your website for the first time today. What a treat!
I got choked up reading about your cooking for the Pope. I enjoy your PBS shows and just this past weekend bought one of your cookbooks. I hope to someday be able to visit one of your restaurants.
Best in Life,
Victoria
July 25th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Hello Lidia,
I love watching your show. You really can cook ! Beautifully!
I watch and get ideas, I never follow recipes having learned to cook when i was very young from my sicilian mom and grandmom. You are wonderful.
I hope to visit one of your restaurants someday. I am an artist ( painter) and I love to cook creatively. After watching your show today, I said to myself, I want to work for her!!
You are deserving of your beautiful family and great success. If you ever are looking for another creative Italian American to help with your multitude of businesses please contact me( I will send you my CV), my friends say I am the best cook in Palm Beach which by the way is not saying all that much , but I know food and can cook well. I worked as rogram Director of the NY Studio School around the corner from Babbo where I finally got my brother to buy my daughter my niece and I dinner! it was great.
Tell me if, i could only visit only one of your restaurants which one would you recommend? I will be in NY soon for a few days to see the Francis Bacon Exhibit!
Have you ever thought of opening a restaurant in Palm Beach?
We could use a great italian restaurant and I would love to help.
You seem an extraordinary person.
God Bless you and your family,
Francesca
July 28th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Hi Lidia!
I love your shows, and am delighted to find your blog!
This is a great idea! I normally stuff with rice, chicken sausage and lemon zest (Chicken version to those I ate in Nice, FR). I get so many just from 2 plants in our vegetable garden, I get bored quickly, even though they are my favorite.
At this point of the summer, I’m not sure if we’ll have enough to make this for this season, but if not, I’ll definitely try this next summer!
Thanks for sharing!
Mari