Smoked trout toast with marinated cucumbers

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Sometimes I get up early on the weekends. I pour myself a cup of fresh hot coffee and I sit and gaze through the open kitchen window. I feel the breeze coming and messing up with my hair and I hear the chirping of the sparrows on the nearby tree. I love my slow weekend mornings when I see the people and their dogs on their morning walk. The dogs eagerly run away ahead of their owners, stretching the leashes and sniffing every tree and bush on their way. From time to time they look back at their owners with their tails wiggling with happiness, just as my happiness is quietly wiggling inside me on this sleepy summer morning. I am happy – for yet another great summer day.

Those are the days when I let everything happen on its own. I have no plans. I have no ideas. I can only sense that there is a great day ahead of me. 

I head to the farmers market and wonder around the produce tables for time unknown. I have no plan. I have no idea what to cook, but I am in the mood for something delicious. These are the times when I allow the vibrant colors, shapes and people to soak me in, to inspire me into my next kitchen adventure.

Today was one of these days when I wandered around each display table and touched and smelled everything that grabbed my attention. There were rows of boxes with giant tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, colorful zucchinis, fresh herbs and fragrant flowers. Then my attention was grabbed by a cooler filled with fresh and smoked lake trout. I don’t know what attracted me so much. Maybe it was the different display or the visual break in the sea of vegetables. The trout looked so fresh and silvery shiny. I talked to the seller and he told me that the fish was caught in Lake Superior and smoked on Wednesday – just 3 days ago. I had to buy it and taste it. You know me, I love fish! 

As I walked back through the produce rows with the bag of smoked trout, I had an idea. Why don’t I grab some small cucumbers, red onions and fresh dill and why don’t I make a fresh pickled salad to top the trout with – ah, on a crunchy toast. Why not indeed?!

Back into my kitchen, I had a piece of smoked trout. It was the most delicious smoked fish I had ever had. It was buttery and flaky with a slight natural wood smoky flavor and just the perfect amount of salt. I could barely restrain myself from eating the whole fish. I marinated the thinly sliced cucumbers and onions by placing them in a bowl of white vinegar, salt and mustard seeds. I also made a tangy mixture of sour cream, capers, lime juice and zest to round up the flavors. Then I piled everything on a thick crusted rustic bread toast. It was a match made in heaven – especially with a glass of white wine.

As I took a bite of the mound of happiness I thought to myself – what a prefect day!

Ciao my dear friends! Thanks for reading and see you soon.

Smoked Trout Toast with Marinated Cucumbers

Ingredients:

Makes 4 big toasts

• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 5 medium cornichons (or 1 seedless cucumber), thinly sliced (tip: a vegetable peeler is great for the job)
• 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
• 1 small container (8 oz.) full fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons capers, chopped
• 1/2 lime, zested and juiced
• 1 whole smoked trout, flaked and small bones removed
• 4 bread slices of large thick crusted loaf
• 5-6 sprigs of fresh dill

Directions:

1. Make the marinated cucumbers salad by placing the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

2. Make the sour cream sauce by mixing the sour cream, chopped capers, lime juice and zest in a medium bowl. Lightly season with salt and pepper (the smoked trout contains a good amount of salt).

3. Toast the bread slices by popping them into the toaster.

4. Spread each toast with 1/4 cup of the sour cream sauce, then top with 1/4 of the smoked trout flakes. Finish by adding your desirable amount of marinated onions and cucumbers and top with a sprig of fresh dill.

Enjoy right away.

Squash Blossoms stuffed with ricotta

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I had my eyes on these yellow-orangey beauties as soon as I got to the farmers market. They were easy to spot even from afar because of their bright sunny color. They were arranged in large bouquets and spread around the table and the ground in front of the table in baskets, pots and buckets. They were patiently waiting for someone to notice and appreciate their gentle beauty, and I thought that I am simply the one who they were waiting for. They were so adorable and happy that at first I thought I would use them as a bouquet of flowers and  then I remembered how fragile they were (they don’t live for that long) and that I can cook them. I asked the Asian lady selling them for an advice on how to cook them and she said that they are good in soups or stuffed with minced pork or chicken and then steamed. I have had stuffed squash blossoms before and they were good, but not that memorable. Despite that, I knew that they are considered a delicacy in France and Italy, so I thought that if the French and Italian can do them right, I could too.

Back into my kitchen and loaded with fresh produce, I decided to cook them both in soup and stuffed. The soup was good, but I couldn’t really taste the blossoms. Then I started to experiment with stuffing the blossoms.  I had several recipes where some ingredients seemed good, others not so much, so I decided to just go ahead and experiment with what made more sense to me. I used this recipe as a general guidance and modified it to match my taste.

There are not very many things I can classify as outrageously delicious, but those lemony ricotta and Parmesan stuffed flowers were exquisite. I could not believe how yummy they were. The flowers were almost cellophane-thin and served as thin packets that had a delicate squash/watermelon taste. I did not use eggs in this recipe as many would call for it. The batter was just perfect as it was and the stuffing became custardy and a bit grainy with an egg. Without the egg the filling was creamy and delicate and the stuffing didn’t ooze out because I pan fried the flowers flat in just a little bit of oil, which kept the packets perfectly sealed and reduced the amount of fat. I served the stuffed flowers along with cherry heirloom tomatoes, which kept the flavor fresh and summery.

So, grab your bag and head out to your local market or, if lucky enough, garden, and get those sunny babies. They will not be around for much longer this season and if you try them, they might become your new favorite.

Squash Blossoms Stuffed with Ricotta

Serves 4 (as appetizer) 2 (as main course)

Ingredients:
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta (preferably fresh)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
• Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
• 12-16 large squash blossoms
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup chilled sparkling water
• 6 tablespoons of oil
• 1 cup cherry heirloom tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Mix together the ricotta, 1/3 parmesan, mint, lemon zest and a dash of salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

2. Carefully open each flower and by using your pointer finger remove the pollen stem that is inside (the pollen stem is quite bitter and if not removed, it will leave an unpleasant taste).

3. Fill a piping or a plastic bag with the ricotta mixture and pipe the filling inside the flower cup until it is 2/3 full. Slightly press to flatten each flower, making sure the filling is not coming out.

4. Whisk together the flour, remaining parmesan, a dash of salt and the sparkling in a medium bowl.

5. Heat an empty 10-inch heavy skillet over medium high heat. Meanwhile, pour the batter into a large shallow plate. Coat both sides of 1/3 of the blossoms by dipping them into the batter. Add 2 tablespoons of oil into the hot skillet and carefully add the flowers. Fry each side until golden, about 2-3 minutes total. Repeat the process 2 more times with the remaining oil and 2/3 of flowers.

Serve with halved cherry heirloom tomatoes.

Yum! Yum!

Note 1: For best results use the squash blossoms the day they were picked. They could be preserved up to 2 days in the refrigerator wrapped in a damp paper towel and placed in a plastic bag. If placed in water they will wilt after a few hours.

Note 2: When enjoying the stuffed blossoms, avoid eating the area around the stem. There might be small amounts of pollen, which might give it a slightly bitter taste.

Elderflower lemonade

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The small sunny apartment gradually became dark as the cool summer night stepped in. A big brown grocery bag was waiting by the door for the girl to come and take it to their next late night adventure. This time the brown bag was filled with a pair of scissors and a box of cookies. The girl looked at the clock – it was time. She got up, put her sandals on and grabbed the bag. They walked for about 20 minutes until they reached the neighbor’s house the girl had spotted earlier that evening. The location of the house was perfect – quiet, far away from the never sleeping apartment windows and most importantly, it had a big elderflower tree in the yard with lush, white, fragrant flowers that were filling the air with sweet honeydew aroma. 

The girl looked up to see if the house was sleeping. One of the windows still had the light on although it was almost 2am. The girl hesitated for a minute but then decided to continue as she planned. She reached for the scissors and begun clipping the elderflower bouquets from the tree and placing them in the brown bag. She worked quickly as her eyes kept glancing at the house window with the light – she didn’t want to be caught. Twenty minutes later the brown bag was filled with sweet aroma and more than 30 heads of elderflowers. She thought is was enough.

She reached for the box of cookies she had taken out of the bag earlier and walked to the front door of the house. She kneeled down, placed the box of cookies on the door step and slowly disappeared into the dark city streets. As she walked back to her apartment, she was happy and thankful for the chance and the people who owned the elderflower tree. It was very unlikely for this time of the season to find still fresh elderflower flowers and she did.

My grandmother used to make elderflower syrup. It was one of the most cherished moments of my early childhood as we spent our summers in the mountains. Sometimes, in the early summer days, she would go for a walk and come back with an apron full of elderflowers. We would watch her as she shook the flowers from the bugs and placed them in a pot full with water and sugar. A day later the syrup will be ready and my sister and I would wait impatiently as our glasses were getting filled with the sweet treat. We would drink the glasses as quickly as possible and we would beg for more.

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Elderflower syrup is very easy to make. All you need is fresh elderflowers – they should be white, not yellow and when shaken the individual tiny flowers should stay on the stem. Depending on where you live in the world, elderflower bushes/trees bloom in June (this year the winter was so cold in Minnesota and I picked mine in late June). Then the flowers are soaked in water with sugar and lemons for 24 hours. The elderflower pollen is what makes the syrup, washing the flowers before soaking them will remove some of the pollen. That is why it is better to shake the flowers to remove bugs and other particles instead of washing them. When the mixture had steeped long enough, it is strained, heated and bottled and can be preserved for several months. 

Elderflower Lemonade

Elderflower Syrup

Makes 10 cups (2.5L) syrup

Ingredients:
• 30-40 elderflower heads
• 4 lemons, 2 sliced and 2 juiced
• 5 cups (1 kg) granulated sugar
• 10 cups (2.5L) water
• 2 teaspoons citric acid

Directions:

1. Shake the elderflowers to remove any insects or particles. Using scissors cut the flowers off the clusters. Try cutting close to the flowers, leaving as little of the green stems as possible. Drop the flowers into a large pot that has been filled with the water. Add the sugar and the sliced lemons. Stir until most of the sugar is dissolved. Cover and let it stay in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Stir from time to time to completely dissolve the sugar.

2. Squeeze the juice out of the soaked lemons back into the syrup mixture and discard the lemons. Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Add the juice of the remaining 2 lemons and the citric acid. Heat the syrup over medium-high heat until it starts to simmer. Decant into sterilized bottles*. The syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 year.

*Sterilize bottles by running them on the hottest cycle of your dishwasher and then put them on a foil lined baking tray in the oven at 300F for 20 minutes. Make sure bottles are not touching each other. Swing tops should be removed beforehand and kept soaked in hot water while the bottles are being sterilized. If you don’t have a dishwasher, wash the bottles with hot soapy water. Fill them with hot water, let them stand for 10 minutes, empty them and repeat this process 3 times before placing the bottles in the oven.

Elderflower Lemonade

Makes 7-8 glasses

Ingredients:
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
• 2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 8-12 lemons depending on size and juiciness) (roll on counter to make them juicier)
• 1 1/2 cup elderflower syrup (see recipe above), this amount will vary if using store-bought elderflower syrup (you can buy it from IKEA, for example)
• 6 cups cold water

Directions:

1. Using a cocktail pestle or a potato masher, mash the lemon slices, sugar and mint (this will release the oils form the lemon skin and the mint which contain lots of flavor). 

2. Add the elderflower syrup, the lemon juce and the cold water. Stir and let it sit in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes to further enhance the flavors. 

3. Strain the lemonade and remove the lemon slices and the mint leaves. Store the lemonade for up to 2 days.

Pour over ice and enjoy!