Parmesan and Borage fritters: four ingredients, gluten free!

Borage flowers are perfect for fritters, and for many other recipes, but I mostly use them for fritters because everyone loves them.

Ingredients:

Borage flowers and young leaves (or other edible flowers)

3 free range eggs

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

Olive oil for frying.

 Pick the top of the plant as soon as it flowers, about 10 cm of stem with a few young leaves too. Don't wait until the flowers make seeds, these are too hard to eat!!! Rinse the stems well and several times and drip dry them. You can also use zucchini flowers for this, I had just a three in the garden and in they went into a batter made by whisking three eggs with a tbsp of parmesan cheese. Fry with extra virgin olive oil turning once until golden and crispy, and serve hot (but even cold leftovers are great to put into a sandwich, if you manage to save some, that is!).

Would you like more recipes for borage flowers? Try these:

 Borage fritters (without parmesan cheese)

Cauliflower and borage curry

'Caprese' with borage flowers

or you could put some borage in your fresh pasta

or use it to decorate your desserts

Also check out the blog Cooking with Flowers for more ideas and recipes using edible flowers.

What else is in the garden now? New potatoes! Yum!

And the first tomatoes, finally!

And to finish a couple of photos of flowers in Nan's garden in Christchurch!

Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

National Honey Week recipe: Parmigiano with Airborne Bush Honey and coffee - Parmigiano con miele e caffè

New Zealand's first National Honey Week ( 25- November - 2 December) starts today, and to celebrate I am proposing something a bit different: Parmigiano con miele e caffè!

I wish this was one of my creations, but I cannot take the credit: it is in fact an appetizer (but also served as a cheese course, or with a good vino da meditazione - meditation wine that I first tried in my village in Italy (Sestola, an excellent Parmigiano producing area) about 20 years ago. It was very fashionable then, and it may be still now for all I know, I am not sure, but it is definitely very original, and too good not to share!

All you need is real Italian Parmigiano Reggiano Stravecchio (over 30 months aging), good quality creamy honey and good ground coffee (espresso quality). If you cannot find 30 month old Parmigiano, look for a 24 month, or you can try with a younger Parmigiano, but really, here you have only three ingredients, and the better they are, the best the end result.

Cut the Parmesan into bite size chunks, spread with honey and sprinkle with ground coffee. The pairing of these three flavours really works. I used Airborne Bush Honey because I like bush honey, but I also had it with other New Zealand honey varieties, and I guess the honey choice goes down to personal taste (and the coffee choice too... but make sure it is finely ground!).

Happy National Honey Week everyone!

If you like to enter a recipe with honey you could win a fantastic bumper pack of New Zealand honey varieties – including Manuka, Rata, Kamahi, Clover, Honeydew, Vipers Bugloss and Tawari. Prizes also include the Jamie Oliver “Cooks Summer” recipe book (to help you kick off the festive/summer season!), a behind the scenes cooking experience with Geoff Scott, at Vinnie’s and a luxurious meal for two. If you aren’t able to get to Auckland, the team at Airborne will happily organise something equivalent in your area. Three runners-up will also receive smaller honey pack prizes. You can email the link for your entry to:
jennifer@airbornehoney.co.nz. 

click here for the full details.



PS
This recipe was one of the finalists!

Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Zuppa alla Cipolla Rossa, Timo e crosta di Parmigiano - Red onion, thyme and parmesan crust soup

This is real 'cucina povera', a simple dish made with humble ingredients and leftovers. Chop two red onions and sauté with a couple of tbsp of olive oil and some fresh thyme. Add 1 litre of vegetable stock and one or two crusts of parmesan cheese. Simmer until the onions and the parmesan crusts are soft.

At this point you can either remove the parmesan crusts and cut off the softest parts (to put back into the soup), or keep simmering the lot until the crusts are really really soft (you will need to add another half a litre of water). I usually use only the softest part and then cut the rest of the crust (which is a bit chewy) for the cats. Dogs also love it!  Blend everything with an immersion blender and serve with some home made bread!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©