Courgette flowers in the oven with ricotta and anchovies

Difficulty:  Time: 

INGREDIENTS (x 5 persons):

• - 10 big courgettes flowers
• - 200 g ricotta cheese
• - 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan
• - 3 tablespoons of plain breadcrumbs
• - extra-virgin olive oil
• - black pepper
• - 3 anchovies, in oil

WHAT TO DO:

• 1. Before you start, warm up the oven at 160°C.
• 2. Wash the courgette flowers under running water, making sure not to break them – they are fragile! Discard the central pistil of each flower and place it to drain in a colander.
• 3. In the meanwhile, mix the ricotta cheese with the Parmesan in a deep bowl and add some black pepper. Cut the anchovies in small pieces.
• 4. Take one flower at a time and fill it with a little piece of anchovy and 2-3 teaspoons of ricotta mix.
• 5. Then close the stuffed flower with you hands by putting together the flower petals tips. Place the flowers on an oiled baking tray.
• 6. When finished with all the flowers, spread on top of them some breadcrumbs with a sprinkle of parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
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• 7. Cook the flowers in the oven for about 10 minutes. Switch the oven to ‘grill’ and make them take some colour, which takes a few extra minutes. Eat them warm.

TIPS&TRICKS:

• This recipe is a lighter version of a traditional Roman starter. The dish is  done by using mozzarella cheese instead of ricotta. It also uses ‘pastella’ (a kind of flour-basted mix) to fry. Different but delicious anyway!