With spring now well underway, our dishes become more colorful. Menus often become simpler, placing more value on seasonal earthy products, such as broad beans, peas, strawberries, and zucchini flowers. For dishes in line with tradition and truly delicious, don’t miss out on these typical Italian recipes for May (appetizer, first course, and dessert).
Fried zucchini flowers (Appetizer)
Let’s start with a bang. Fried zucchini flowers are a great classic of Roman cuisine, straight from the eternal city. Also, famous is the natural version, where zucchini flowers are simply fried after being dipped in batter. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love the Roman version, with a filling of anchovies and mozzarella (or fior di latte).
A little trick that not everyone knows is to prepare the batter after stuffing the zucchini flowers. This way, it will remain cold and, when in contact with the hot oil, will become super crispy. Try it to believe it!
For correct and very simple preparation, you can:
- Clean the flowers and remove the pistil (be careful not to break them; otherwise, the filling won’t be homogeneous)
- Fill the flowers with mozzarella and well-drained anchovies (to avoid water loss during frying)
- Prepare the batter with cold water, a pinch of salt and pepper, and flour and dip the zucchini flowers holding them by the tip
- Fry the flowers in hot oil until golden brown
Remember, the frying should be eaten as soon as it’s ready and very hot, that’s a rule!
Cacio e pepe Pasta with broad beans (First course)
This recipe also refers to Roman cuisine; it’s a reinterpretation of the famous cacio e pepe pasta. May is the month of broad beans, besides being the main protagonists of the traditional menu of May 1st (Workers’ Day), they marry perfectly with cacio e pepe.
This exotic mix of broad beans + pecorino is a winning choice to impress your guests with Italian cuisine (which never goes wrong).
For a top-notch first course, you’ll need:
- Blanch the broad beans for 1-2 minutes and remove them from the skin, which you should toast in a pan until they become crispy.
- Melt the butter in a pan and then add flour and milk, finally pecorino cheese. This sauce will be used to dress the pasta, strictly linguine (or spaghetti).
- Transfer the linguine, still al dente, to the pan with the cheese sauce, and finish cooking.
Don’t forget the broad bean skins, which, nice and crispy, will add a very welcome touch to your dish!
Strawberries in wine (Dessert)
To conclude a great lunch in the name of Italian cuisine and tradition, you can’t miss the fruit of the season loved by everyone, the strawberry.
If you don’t disdain sangria, you’ll surely love strawberries in wine. There are several versions, even with other fruits, but this is my favorite.
A quick and easy dessert, child-proof. Just put sugar, lemon zest, and a little cinnamon in a container. Then pour in good red wine as you like and add the strawberries cut into slices.
Let it rest for an hour, in the fridge, and then serve the strawberries sprinkled with wine in a glass.
Lunch is served, enjoy your meal!
