Rasa Pelham Recipes

Courgette flowers for lunch

Fresh courgette flowers and courgettes arranged on a wooden surface.

I am so blessed to have my dear friend Alex staying over at my home. He always brings the best ideas. The other day, when he saw courgettes growing in my garden, he suggested we eat their flowers.

Naturally, I replied, “Are you insane?”

But he explained that in Italy, where he is from, stuffed courgette flowers are a real delicacy. So I gave it a go, following his mum’s recipe, and I loved them.

The only problem? I only had three flowers that day. I would suggest at least 4–6 per person.

A plate with two fried stuffed courgette flowers, a lemon wedge, and a side of arugula on a wooden surface.

STUFFED COURGETTE FLOWERS

  • 6 flowers
  • 100g cream cheese (with herbs or garlic)
  • 1 egg
  • 100g flour
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • lemon wedge to serve

1. Stuff the flowers with the cream cheese.

Fresh courgette flowers with a spoonful of cream cheese on a wooden cutting board.

2. Whisk the eggs in one bowl and place some flour in another. Dip the courgette flower in the egg and then roll it in the flour.

Fresh courgette flowers on a wooden cutting board, accompanied by a bowl of beaten eggs and a bowl of flour, suggesting preparation for cooking.

3. Heat the oil in the pan and fry stuffed flowers.

Fried stuffed courgette flowers resting in a frying pan.

4. Serve still hot drizzled with lemon!

You must try this out!

Rasa 😉

Rasa Pelham Recipes, Travel

My trip to Italy

A couple sits beside a classic red Italian car on a cobblestone street, with a weathered wall and greenery in the background.

I will start with the official news that I am back to London and the fact that I am experiencing mild writer’s block condition (not that I consider myself a writer). So beware of this minor problem as I progress with writing my quick story. Also would like to mention that I no longer work in the cafe… who knows what the future will bring? But for now am focusing on settling in London whilst still feeling really privileged for my year experiences in Windsor.
Anyway… moving on! I had a short gap between moving to London and leaving the cafe job so I did little bit of traveling. I visited Italy, Greece and Lithuania (of course!). What I am going to talk about now however is Italy since it is what the title is suggesting. And since I am only telling short story I will only focus on FOOD. And believe me food was the biggest part of this trip! At least in my opinion…

A collage of various Italian dishes, including a pepperoni pizza, pasta, coffee, and desserts. The scene features different meal preparations and people enjoying food together, highlighting the essence of Italian cuisine.

And the most amazing thing is that we were staying at our friend’s Alex house! You see, I was able to witness the real Italian cuisine. Thanks to Alex’s mum as she was really wonderful hostess and cooked three course meal every time. She even showed me how to make gnocchi which is my favorite! I mean, I knew how to make these potato dumplings before, however that used to take me forever. This time I defiantly feel more confident as Alex’s mum (sadly forgot her name) demonstrated a good technique how to make them quicker. I am also amazed that her recipe had some ricotta cheese which made gnocchi even more soft and tasty! Try it for yourself….

Hands making gnocchi on a wooden surface, with flour and uncooked gnocchi pieces scattered around.

GNOCCHI WITH PEAS AND PROSCIUTTO HAM
Ingredients (feeds 4 gnocchi lovers)

  • 300g ricotta cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 250g potatoes (boiled, pealed and mashed)
  • 130g flour plus some for rolling
  • 100g hard cheese like Parmesan
  • 1tbs butter
  • 1 leek
  • 200g sweet peas (can be from frozen)
  • 250ml vegetable stock
  • 4tbsp cream
  • 4 slices prosciutto ham
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  1. First, make the dough by mixing ricotta cheese, egg yolks, potatoes, flour and Parmesan together.
  2. Then, prepare the sauce. Chop the leeks and fry them with butter. Then add peas, stock and whiz it up all together with hand food processor. Let it cook for further 2-3min and after taking it of the heat add the cream and season to your taste. Set aside.
  3. Make the gnocchi by rolling the pieces of dough on the floury surface and then cutting them into little pieces (see picture above). To make them textured roll each gnocchi piece against the fork ribs. Lay them in floured plate by leaving some small gaps between them as they really like to stick together.
  4. Lay prosciutto ham slices onto foil and bake for around 15 min until it is slightly golden. Take it out to dry.
  5. Cook gnocchi in lightly salted boiling water. But don’t go away too far away as the little pieces of gnocchi soon rises up to the top and that’s when you should fish them out.
  6. To serve mix gnocchi with sauce, little olive oil and dish them up. On top of each plate add crispy prosciutto slice and maybe some Parmesan of course.
A plate of gnocchi topped with peas, prosciutto ham, and grated cheese, presented on a decorative blue and white dish.
Buon appetitio!
Rasa xox