Zucchini and Pumpkin flowers are a favorite “flavor” here in Italy. I see pizza’s with zucchini blossoms and anchovy, there are fritters with zucchini flowers, I even see pasta and frattata adorned with the bright yellow flowers.
The most common way I have eaten artichokes in Italy is the “Roman Style”. This is reasonable since I am living in the general area of Rome and all cuisine in my area is influenced in the Roman Kitchen . Roman Artichokes are trimmed of all tough parts, with most of the Artichoke discarded. Each leaf is snapped off in such a way that the tough fiberous parts are removed.
Now that you have made a big beautiful batch of Creamy Polenta with Ragu, you may be fortunate enough to have some leftovers! You may have been surprised when you placed that smooth polenta into a bowl to have seen in completely congealed into a solid mass when you opened the container the next day!
My region of Italy is Lazio and it is famous for its Artichokes, in Rome you can enjoy them Roman Style or Jewish Style. Both styles trim the artichoke all the way down to only the edible parts. The Roman Style is then simmered in water and olive oil along with spices until soft. It is then eaten in its entirety, no peeling back leaf by leaf until you reach the heart. Nope, you just dig right in. The Chef did all of the work for you.
Grilled vegetables are a great addition to any dinner menu, buffet table or Aperitivo spread. They help to balance out all of those platters of salami and prosciutto and cheese adding much needed fiber to the diet!
So I have finally mastered the Risotto and have been enjoying its creamy decadent wonder every week now. Amazing flavors like Pumpkin Risotto, Milanese Risotto, Mushroom Risotto, Radicchio Risotto and Shrimp Risotto. There is the rare occasion when all the risotto does not get eaten up and the bowl licked clean and you find yourself with leftover risotto in the fridge.
