Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [254]
3. At the same time, put the milk in a small saucepan, warm it without bringing it to a boil, mash the bread into it, and set aside to cool.
4. Put the ground beef, the egg, the grated Parmesan, the chopped prosciutto or ham, the bread and milk mush, salt, and pepper into a bowl, and knead with your hands until you obtain an evenly blended mixture.
5. Stuff the mixture into the hollowed-out zucchini, packing it tightly, but being careful not to split the vegetable’s fragile walls. Put the stuffed zucchini into the pan with the onion and tomato, cover, and cook at medium low heat until the zucchini are tender, about 40 minutes, depending on their youth and freshness. Turn them over from time to time while cooking.
6. When done, if the juices in the pan are watery, uncover, raise the heat to high, and boil them down. Taste and correct for salt. Turn the zucchini once or twice, transfer the contents of the pan to a serving platter, and allow to settle for a few minutes before bringing to the table.
Ahead-of-time note Here is one of those dishes that has nothing to gain from being served the moment it’s done. Its flavor improves when it is served several hours or even a day later. Reheat it gently in a covered pan, and serve warm, but not steaming hot.
Female and Male zucchini blossoms
Crisp-Fried Zucchini Blossoms
THE LUSCIOUS orange-yellow blossoms of zucchini are very perishable, so you are likely to find them only in those markets that handle local, seasonal produce. There are both male and female blossoms, and only the male, those on a stem, are good to eat. The female blossoms, attached to the zucchini, are mushy and don’t taste good.
For 4 to 6 servings
1 dozen male zucchini blossoms
Vegetable oil
The flour and water batter, pastella
Salt
1. Wash the blossoms rapidly under cold running water without letting them soak. Pat them gently but thoroughly dry with soft cloth or paper towels. If the stems are very long, cut them down to 1 inch. Make a cut on one side of each blossom’s base to open the flower flat, butterfly fashion.
2. Pour enough oil in a frying pan to come ¾ inch up its sides, and turn on the heat to high. When the oil is very hot, use the blossoms’ stems to dip them quickly in and out of the batter, and slip them into the skillet. Put in only as many as will fit very loosely. When they have formed a golden brown crust on one side, turn them and do the other side. Transfer to a cooling rack to drain or to a platter lined with paper towels, using a slotted spoon or spatula. If any blossoms remain to be done, repeat the procedure. When they are all done, sprinkle with salt, and serve immediately.
Mixed Baked Vegetable Platter
For 6 servings
4 medium round, waxy, boiling potatoes
3 sweet bell peppers, preferably yellow
3 fresh, firm, ripe, round OR 6 plum tomatoes
4 medium yellow onions
A shallow baking dish
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Peel the potatoes, cut them into 1-inch wedges, wash them in cold water, and pat dry with cloth towels.
3. Cut the peppers along their folds into lengthwise sections. Scrape away and discard the pulpy core with all the seeds. Skin the peppers, using a peeler with a swiveling blade.
4. If using round tomatoes, cut them into 6 to 8 wedge-shaped sections; if using plum tomatoes, cut them lengthwise in two.
5. Peel the onions and cut each one into 4 wedge-shaped sections.
6. Wash all the vegetables, except for the onions and the already washed potatoes, in cold water, and drain well.
7. Put the potatoes and all the vegetables into the baking dish. They should not be too snugly packed or they will steep in their own vapors and become soggy. Add the