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Fiori di Zucca Fritti alla Romana
Created by Chef Graziella
Rome's beloved fried zucchini blossoms, stuffed with mozzarella that stretches and anchovy that provides salt and depth. A fleeting summer pleasure that rewards those who seek out perfect ingredients.
Fiori di zucca appear in Roman markets for a brief window in early summer. Smart cooks know to arrive early, when the blossoms are still tight and fresh from the morning harvest. By afternoon, they have begun to wilt, and a wilted blossom is not worth frying.
The Roman filling is mozzarella and anchovy. Not mozzarella alone, which some restaurants serve to timid tourists. The anchovy is essential. It melts into the cheese as it fries, providing salt and a depth of flavor that the dish cannot achieve otherwise. If you think you do not like anchovies, you have never had them disappear into something this elegant.
The batter must be thin, cold, and barely mixed. Americans ruin fried foods with thick, bready coatings that taste like dough. Roman batter is a veil, not a blanket. It shatters when you bite through it, revealing the tender blossom and the molten filling within. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in.
Ingredients
fresh zucchini blossoms
Quantity
12
male flowers preferred
fresh mozzarella
Quantity
6 ounces
cut into 12 small batons
anchovy fillets
Quantity
6
halved lengthwise
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh zucchini blossomsmale flowers preferred | 12 |
| fresh mozzarellacut into 12 small batons | 6 ounces |
| anchovy filletshalved lengthwise | 6 |
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