Fried Elderflowers & Squash Blossoms in Beer Batter: Light, Crispy & Delicate

Fried Elderflowers in Beer Batter

 On a warm Spring afternoon we added Fried Elderflowers or fiori di sambuco fritti  to the menu - these edible flowers when fried in a beer batter create a light, crunchy, aromatic antipasti/appetizer!

Serve with the same beer you used in the batter, in our case, local craft beer from Apecchio's Collessi Brewery. The flowers have a floral-lemony flavor that pair perfect with Prosecco as well.

The key to this recipe is keeping all the ingredients - including the bowl & whisk in the fridge!! It is a very light/loose batter that becomes nice & crispy!

Elderflowers or Sambuco from the tree in our front yard

Here is a short 2 minute video taken during a May Cooking Class just the other day - on the menu: Fried Elderflowers, Homemade Ravioli stuffed with Greens & Ricotta in a 'Sugo al Momento' or Sauce of the Moment and 2 Crostata's: Fresh Strawberries and Fig Jam with Pine Nuts. It was a lovely lunch but the elderflowers stole the show!

Beer Batter for Elderflowers and Squash/Zucchini Blossoms

*It is very important to have all the ingredients as cold as possible, including: flour, bowl, whisk/whip, etc.

Serves 4
12-15 flowers (sambuco/elderflower or squash blossoms), it is important to keep the stem long to use it as a 'stir-stick' when frying.
bottle of beer (or seltzer water - but it won't be as crispy)
flour
sea salt (for sprinkling on top before you serve)

Add a couple of handfuls of cold flour to a cold bowl, with a cold whisk add cold beer steadily mixing until you develop a light thin batter without lumps that will coat a spoon. (Think of a thin crepe batter.) - Watch the video for an example.

Once at desired consistency, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Heat oil to 350 F / 175 C - be sure to use a thermometer.

Clean your flowers. Elderflowers: give a little shake and check for bugs. Squash Blossoms: remove the pistil & stamen.

Dip the flower in the batter holding on to the stem. Allow access batter to drip off. While holding the stem of the flower, place in the hot oil in a slow swirling motion thru the oil. (This avoids clumping).
Fry for 20-30 seconds, until golden brown. Be sure to maintain the temperature of your oil.
Place on the fried flowers on brown paper and sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately!

Serve with beer or prosecco - something bubbly!!

Video Recipe: Cooking Class, Beer Batter for Elderflowers & Squash Blossoms

 On a warm Spring afternoon we added Fried Elderflowers or fiori di sambuco fritti  to the menu - these edible flowers when fried in a beer batter create a light, crunchy, aromatic antipasti/appetizer!

Serve with the same beer you used in the batter, in our case, local craft beer from Apecchio's Collessi Brewery. The flowers have a floral-lemony flavor that pair perfect with Prosecco as well.

The key to this recipe is keeping all the ingredients - including the bowl & whisk in the fridge!! It is a very light/loose batter that becomes nice & crispy!

 

 

Here is a short 2 minute video taken during a May Cooking Class just the other day - on the menu: Fried Elderflowers, Homemade Ravioli stuffed with Greens & Ricotta in a 'Sugo al Momento' or Sauce of the Moment and 2 Crostata's: Fresh Strawberries and Fig Jam with Pine Nuts. It was a lovely lunch but the elderflowers stole the show!

Beer Batter for Elderflowers and Squash/Zucchini Blossoms

*It is very important to have all the ingredients as cold as possible, including: flour, bowl, whisk/whip, etc.

Serves 4
12-15 flowers (sambuco/elderflower or squash blossoms), it is important to keep the stem long to use it as a 'stir-stick' when frying.
bottle of beer (or seltzer water - but it won't be as crispy)
flour
sea salt (for sprinkling on top before you serve)

Add a couple of handfuls of cold flour to a cold bowl, with a cold whisk add cold beer steadily mixing until you develop a light thin batter without lumps that will coat a spoon. (Think of a thin crepe batter.) - Watch the video for an example.

Once at desired consistency, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Heat oil to 350 F / 175 C - be sure to use a thermometer.

Clean your flowers. Elderflowers: give a little shake and check for bugs. Squash Blossoms: remove the pistil & stamen.

Dip the flower in the batter holding on to the stem. Allow access batter to drip off. While holding the stem of the flower, place in the hot oil in a slow swirling motion thru the oil. (This avoids clumping).
Fry for 20-30 seconds, until golden brown. Be sure to maintain the temperature of your oil.
Place on the fried flowers on brown paper and sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately!

Serve with beer or prosecco - something bubbly!!

Grilled Peppers Stuffed with Tuna

Simply delicious. Ever since visiting a family-run seafood restaurant along the Adriatic we have been recreating this simple dish of roasted peppers and tuna.  Roasting gorgeous orange, yellow and red peppers over the grill and stuffing them with tuna, capers and herbs makes for a healthy flavorful appetizer/antipasti -the perfect way to start your summer dinner (especially if you already have the bbq fired up!)

Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Tuna
 Peperoni alla grilglia ripieni di tonno

Serves 6

4 Peppers (any color)
250 gram of highest quality of tuna you can find (in oil or water), drained
spoonful of capers, chopped
oregano, or any fresh herb of your choice (basil, marjoram, etc.)
salt & pepper (or red chili flakes)
red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
clove of garlic

Start by charring the outside of your peppers - either on the stove or over the grill - until the outside is completely blackened. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic, allow to cool.

When you can handle the peppers, remove the skin (should come right off) and remove the seeds. Slice the peppers into 3 cm strips.

To prepare the tuna filling, combine the tuna, capers, salt & pepper, a few drops of olive oil and vinegar.

At one end of the peppers add a spoonful of the tuna mix and roll the pepper around the tuna. Place in the dish, once the dish is full season with salt & cracked pepper.  Now make the dressing.

Two spoonfuls of red wine vinegar with six spoonfuls of olive oil, 1/2-1 clove of finely chopped garlic and small handful of chopped herbs. Mix it up and pour over the peppers in the dish. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes before serving to let the peppers soak up the dressing.

Note: You can add any thing you like to the tuna mix: spring onions, sun dried tomatoes, olives, etc.

Absolutely Addictive: Fried Anchovies & Sage

For those out there that think of anchovies as "bait" taste again!

The oily anchovies pair perfectly with the savory flavor of sage, dipped in a light batter and fried quickly until golden they are absolutely addictive & perfect with a glass of white wine before dinner.   Commonly overlooked, but absolutely delicious is the blue fish family or pesce azzuro - anchovies, sardines, mackerel, etc.  they are not only flavorful but rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

We're posting this recipe of Fried Anchovies with Sage, not only because it's one of my all-time favorite antipasti but to celebrate the reopening of the Adriatic Sea for fishing. Every year, the Adriatic closes fishing for six weeks in the summer - hey even the anchovies need a holiday!

Fried Anchovies with Sage
Acciughe fritte con la salvia

1lb of fresh anchovies, cleaned, spine removed - you can use small sardines as well.
sage leaves (optional - if you are not a fan of sage just omit)

batter
1 cup of flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
seltzer water
vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl combine flour, eggs, salt & baking powder. Slowly add in seltzer water & mix until forms a thin batter. Cover with plastic & set in the fridge for at least an hour.

Heat oil in a pot to 350 degree.

Remove batter from fridge and mix once or twice (batter will have separated)

Take a sage leaf & anchovy put them together & dip into the batter - allowing access batter to drip off. Fry 20 seconds a side until golden brown.

Remove from oil & drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt & serve immediately.

Pairs great with Prosecco or a crisp white wine like Verdicchio D.O.C.

Fried Squash Blossoms + Prosecco

A fabulous summer appetizer is fried zucchini or squash blossoms, lightly battered, golden & crispy with a hint of salt, followed with a tall glass of bubbly Prosecco! It's a match made in heaven.

You can find recipes that fill the blossoms with cheese but I prefer it vuoto, fried without anything stuffed inside so you can taste how delicate this dish really is.  The blossoms perish quickly, so cut them off the plant or buy them the day of use & keep them in the crisper section of your fridge until ready to fry.

I am not normally a big fan of fried foods (I should say I'm a big fan of eating them but the cooking & clean up can be a mess), but this dish is so delicious it's worth it.

Fried Squash or Zucchini Blossoms

Fiori di zucca fritti

8 zucchini or squash blossoms, fresh cut, remove the center pistil & stamen from the flower
cup of flour
1 egg
pinch of salt
spoonful of baking powder
enough seltzer water to make a thin batter
oil for frying

In a bowl combine the flour, salt & baking powder. Scramble the egg & add it to the flour.
Then with a fork, mix in the egg & enough seltzer water to make a thin batter.  Allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour. The mixture will separate, stir it with a fork a few times before use.

Temperature to fry 350 degrees
Dip into the batter & allow the access to drip off. Fry at 350 degree until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt & serve immediately with an cold glass of Prosecco.

Sauteed Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

Green beans, runner beans, french beans or fagiolini - whatever you call them they are in-season on our farm! If you read our last post you know we are eating them damn'near daily! Here we pick them while they are still young & tender - not the huge knobby tough beans I was used to before. And don't even get me started on the difference between fresh picked beans and the soggy, salty ones I was force-fed to eat as a kid...from a can!! (No wonder so many kids grow up hating vegetables). Now I eat them right off the vine!

This is a delicious, fast, simple and healthy way to devour these fantastic green veggies. The crunchy, toasty almonds pair so nicely with the al'dente green beans, just begging you to go back for seconds - guilt free!

Sauteed Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

serves 4

4 handfuls of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
2 cloves of garlic
pinch of chili flakes
100 gram toasted almonds, chopped
olive oil
salt & pepper
Blanch your beans in boiling salted water for 3-8 minutes depending on the size and thickness of beans or until half cooked.

Drain and rinse under cold water.

In a frying pan slowly heat 3-4 glugs of olive oil along with the garlic and chili flakes.

When the garlic is nicely browned turn the heat up and add in the green beans and saute for a minute or two.
Add quarter cup of water. Allow the water to evaporate fully cooking the beans for about 3 minutes.

Season with salt & pepper.

Toss in toasted almonds.
(If you like you can add in a squeeze of lemon.)

Serve.
(Leftovers: also delicious served cold.)

Green Bean Lover? Here's another great recipe:

Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes & Balsamic

Fennel & Blood Orange Salad

Fennel - what is it? A big onion? A bulb? Is it even edible? YES and how delicious it is!

The secret is to know how to use it & what to pair it with.
Fennel can be a bit tough & fibrous with an anise flavor. It is also light, crunchy & refreshing found in many Mediterranean recipes. We not only grow our own big bulbs of fennel but another variety of fennel grows wild along our road - the more leafy/flowery type to used as an aromatic.

Here is one of my favorite winter/early spring recipes from Jason below. Other ways to use/eat fennel: roasted, braised in white wine and the most simplistic - young fennel can be cut into chunks & dipped into olive oil & salt.

Fennel & Blood Orange Salad

1 bulb of fennel, cut in 1/2 and remove core
2-3 blood oranges
salt & pepper
3 glugs of extra virgin olive oil

Slice fennel as this as possible (use a food slicer or mandolin if available).
Peel & supreme the oranges. Save the extra pulp & squeeze the remaining juice into the bowl.
Mix sliced fennel, juice from the pulp & oranges - season with salt & pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil & toss.
Let stand for 10 minutes then serve.

Fried Anchovies with Sage

If you have not tried anchovies before - you must try them now! Get over any weird apprehensions or that its just bait or a punchline for a joke about pizza ("extra anchovies")! These little suckers are delicious & actually good for you! Baked, fried & grilled - they are ohh so good and worth a try. If your not up to it, then pass me your plate because I love'em!
Here is my favorite - Fried Anchovies - the recipe below adds a sage leave to each piece of fish as well for an extra burst of flavor & color.

Fried Anchovies with Sage
Acciughe fritte con Salvia

1lb of anchovies cleaned, spine removed
sage leaves (optional - if you are not a fan of sage just omit)

batter
1 cup of flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
seltzer water

vegetable oil for frying

In a bowl combine flour, eggs, salt & baking powder. Slowly add in seltzer water & mix until forms a thin batter. Cover with plastic & set in the fridge for at least an hour.

Heat oil in a pot to 350 degree.

Remove batter from fridge and mix once or twice (batter will have separated).

Take a sage leaf & anchovy put them together & dip into the batter - allowing access batter to drip off.

Fry 20 seconds a side until golden brown.

Remove from oil & drain on a paper towel.

Sprinkle with salt & serve immediately.

Pairs great with prosecco or white wine.