Squash blossom risotto

A risotto with the smell of summer mornings in the vegetable garden

We’re back from Salento, and while I’m slowly unpacking all the goodies we brought back from Puglia - including a bucket of capers and a bucket of olives -, I’m also jotting down all the ideas for recipes, stories, and travel guides that popped into my mind while I was savouring a ripe peach or lazily soaking in the turquoise sea.

From this picture, I’m intentionally leaving our Livia’s tantrums and the hot, sultry weather that made me sweat even raising an eyebrow. There will be time to delve into all the details of our holidays, but for the moment - hear! hear! - I have a new recipe for you on the blog, a seasonal, creamy, squash blossom risotto.

Squash blossom risotto

Recipe developed in collaboration with RisoChiaro.it

This risotto has the smell of summer mornings in the vegetable garden when the squash blossoms are still open and fresh, and the herbs are still enjoying the balmy air of the night. I picked squash blossoms, a zucchini for the stock, a bunch of herbs, and headed for the kitchen.

First, I made a light vegetable stock with herbs, carrot, celery, onion and zucchini, and then I used it to coddle on the stove a risotto with squash blossoms, which lend a note of colour and brightness to a very delicate dish. In the end, I whipped the risotto with fresh goat cheese to add a hint of acidity.

The secret ingredient hard to detect?

Two anchovy fillets melted in the soffritto made with shallots, oil, and butter, recalling one of the most classic recipes made with squash blossoms, fiori di zucca fritti, fried blossoms with a piece of mozzarella and an anchovy fillet inside. Just avoid them to make a vegetarian version of this risotto.

You can find the recipe to make this risotto in the new blog post.

Let me hear your thoughts on this risotto in the comments!

If you’re planning to make this risotto, share the results with us on social media by using the hashtag #myseasonaltable and tagging @julskitchen on Instagram.

If you have questions about the ingredients or the recipe, if you have a special request for one of the following cooking projects, or want to have a chat, leave a comment.

Riso Chiaro, a project to promote Italian rice

The Riso Chiaro project aims to protect and promote Italian rice, an excellence of our agriculture and an integral part of our gastronomic culture, which over the centuries has shaped the landscape and social fabric of many Italian regions. The project also protects the end consumer, increasing his awareness of the rice he brings to the table thanks to Blockchain technology.

A rice is chiaro, transparent, when it has no secrets, when it tells the story of its supply chain from sowing to the shelf.

The Carnaroli rice I used in this recipe was produced by Azienda Agricola Osenga, a family-run company in Trino, in the province of Vercelli, north of the Po River and close to the Monferrato hills.

You can read more about the project here and in the new blog post.