Fried Cauliflower with Tahini & Pomegranate Molasses Recipe

With garlic cloves, mint, parsley, and possibly cauliflower in the garden, this recipe provided by Patrisha from the Guardian

Photo Courtesy of Colin Campbell for the Guardian

seemed a natural for Fort York Gardeners who want to try something different. Pomegranate molasses, available in the market, is often found in Middle Eastern food.

FRIED CAULIFLOWER WITH TAHINI AND POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

500ml sunflower oil
2 medium cauliflower heads, split into small florets, weighing 1kg in all
8 spring onions, each cut into three long segments
180g tahini paste
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
15g chopped parsley
15g chopped mint, plus more to finish
150g Greek yoghurt
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp pomegranate molasses, plus more to finish
Malden sea salt and black pepper
Roughly 180ml water

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Lay in a few cauliflower florets at a time and cook for two to three minutes, turning so they colour evenly. Once golden-brown, transfer to a colander with a slotted spoon, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to drain. Repeat with the rest of the cauliflower. Next, fry the spring onions, also in batches, for a minute. Add to the cauliflower and leave to cool down.

Pour the tahini paste into a large mixing bowl and add the garlic, herbs, yoghurt, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses and seasoning. Stir with a wooden spoon as you add the water. The tahini sauce will first thicken and then loosen up as you add water. Don’t add too much, just enough to get a thick yet smooth pourable consistency, a bit like honey.

Stir the cauliflower and onion into the tahini bowl, taste and adjust the seasoning. You may also want to add more lemon juice.

To serve, spoon into a serving bowl and finish with a few drops of pomegranate molasses and some mint.

See the original recipe here.

Zucchini & Zucchini Flower Recipe

Given the abundance of zucchini being harvested in the garden over the last couple of weeks, it is timely that Patrisha passed on this great recipe that she found in the Globe & Mail which calls for zucchini and zucchini flowers.  While male zucchini flowers are often used in recipes, both the male and female blossoms are edible and easy to differentiate.  Male flowers (which tend to be more common in a new zucchini plant) can usually be found growing directly on a thin, long stalk of the plant while the female flowers are found on shorter stems with an emergent or small fruit at the base.  One good way to control over-abundance of zucchini in your garden is to harvest the flowers, particularly the female blossoms which produce the fruit on the vine.  Another popular way to prepare the blossoms is to fry them but before eating the stamens should be removed from male flowers and the pistils from female flowers.  In the following photo, the female flower is the one on top and the male blossom is underneath:

Photo Courtesy of the Denver Post

Male Flowers:

Photo Courtesy of zone9garden.com

Female Flower:

Photo Courtesy of zone9garden.com

From the Globe & Mail/Chef David Lee
Pasta with Zucchini and Zucchini Flowers

While I haven¹t had any zucchini in Canada that quite compares to the
zucchini I had in Italy, the baby zucchini available at farmers¹ markets
this time of year do work well in this recipe. This recipe serves 2 people
as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
6 ounces fresh fettuccine or dried spaghetti cooked al dente
12 baby zucchini with flower, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, chopped finely
1/2 clove garlic thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 ounce butter
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.
2. Warm enough olive oil to amply cover the bottom of a large lidded sauté
pan over medium-low heat. Add shallot and, with the lid on, sweat them off
(cook until translucent but not brown), stirring occasionally.
3. Add the zucchini rounds and, with the lid off, cook until somewhat soft,
approximately 6 minutes, flipping the rounds halfway through.
4. Add the butter and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to the pan, stir it in
and turn up the heat to medium to let it thicken into sauce.
5. When the salted water comes to a boil, and while the sauce is thickening,
add the fettuccine to the pot and cook until it is al dente, according to
the instructions on the package. It will not take long.
6. Once the fettuccine is cooking, add the zucchini flowers and a tablespoon
or two of the pasta water to the sauce, and give it a stir. Season to taste.
7. Drain the pasta cooked, incorporate it into the sauce, and serve
immediately.
8. Fall in love.

Find the recipe online at the Globe & Mail here.