This courgette flowers pie conquered me immediately. First, for its beauty. After, for its versatility, as I ate it warm from the oven, at room temperature, and the last slice right from the fridge. And loved it each time.
It means it can be prepared in advance, can be an idea for a pic nic, a buffet, or just for a Summer easy dinner.
The courgette flowers have such a delicate flavor. In this pie they are not only on the surface, as decoration, but also in the dough.
These are the only flowers I eat, at least for now. Even if often I see recipes from famous chefs using flowers, I don’t feel like eating them. But courgette flowers are an exception…maybe because I knew them always as food.
If you don’t have cream at home (as it happened to me the other day), you can use ricotta. Its taste will be even more delicate and light.
I have found this recipe on Buitoni site and have changed only a few things, as I usually do ;-).
Ingredients:
1 package round puff pastry
16 courgette flowers
2 medium zucchini
1 cup of heavy cream (or ricotta)
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
grated nutmeg
chives
salt
pepper
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions:
Turn on the oven to 400°F.
Clean the courgette flowers, eliminating the pistils. Take 8 and set apart for decoration and chop the others.
Wash and clean the zucchini, and then grate them with a large grater.
Beat the cream (or ricotta, depending on what you’re using) with the eggs. Add the grated Parmesan, chives, nutmeg, salt, pepper, zucchini, extra virgin olive oil and the chopped flowers. Mix until well combined.
Open the puff pastry and lay it on a baking tray. Punch the bottom with a fork so it won’t inflate during cook time. Pour the mixture in and level it.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Take the tray out of the oven and add the flowers you had set apart for decoration. Lower the oven to 356°F and bake the pie until colored.
Serve it warm, cold or at room temperature.
Buon appetito!
