There is something that is just cool about eating flowers. I don’t know if it puts me in touch with my ruminate roots, or if it’s just a holdover from being a kid and having visions of munching happily on a bouquet of roses. Whatever it is, spring is definitely the time of year to cut loose and show those uppity blooms their place in the grand scheme of gastronomy.
Around these parts it’s just now getting to be squash blossom season. Until recently, you pretty much had to grow your own zucchini or know of a good farmers’ market to get your hands on these delicate little guys. They’re so perishable that most grocery stores won’t even consider carrying them.
Luckily for me, Central Market came to the rescue yet again and got in some amazingly fresh and fragrant specimens. Just the right amount for me to plan a meal around.
In Rome, you often see them stuffed with cheese and deep fried. In restaurants around here you occasionally find them in quesadillas. While I’m a fan of both of these preparations, I do think they tend to overpower the delicate floral flavor of the blossoms.
This being the case, I thought a mild and creamy risotto might be just the right canvas to showcase these seasonal tasties. I used a straight forward preparation, adding a little shallot and chive for some depth and deglazing with a very light white wine for hint of acidity. The lovely sheen is courtesy of Plugrá for the curious amoung you.
(For you rice devotees out there, check out a previous risotto rendering with radicchio here.)
And what kind of side goes with a risotto flavored with baby squash blooms? Roasted baby squash of course. We roasted off a combination of yellow and green sunbursts then finished them with a generous squeeze of lime juice and some fleur de sel.
If you’re wondering, it wasn’t amazingly delicious. Oh wait. I’m wrong. It was totally amazingly delicious. Right.
-L. Pants
