Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I know that it is not season for kale, but we got quite a few seeds from the NewWorld's series  Little Garden , and now I have plenty of curly kale! I like it but not as much as  cavolo nero , but it is the best to make kale chips! I had to wash the leaves 7 times (that was my Mother's 'magic' number when I was little and my job was to wash the salad!) to remove all the little bugs from the curls! After spinning the leaves I placed them on a oven tray lined with baking paper, bushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt. I baked them for about 10-15 minutes (until they looked crispy and dark green). They taste a little like roasted seaweed. A yummy snack! Garden flowers of the day: hydrangeas!   Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

This is a super fast dessert: whip some cream and fold in some grated dark chocolate, cannot really see it much as it blends with the cream but the taste will be like a light chocolate mousse. Then top with strawberries and raspberries. So much better than those packaged instant whipped desserts! And now for something that takes a little longer, but taste really good: artichoke risotto. I only had two artichokes and needed a meal for 4 people, and risotto was the ideal solution. Clean the artichokes and remove the outer leaves. Peel the stalks and cut into small pieces. Put everything in water with lemon juice while you work or the artichokes will become black. Finely chop a handful of parsley with a couple of garlic cloves and add salt. Stuff the artichokes with the chopped garlic and parsley and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place in a casserole, together with the stalks, and add 5cm of water. Simmer on low with the lid on for one hour or until cooked (the outer leaves will start...

I have quite a few zucchini in the garden but not so many flowers yet, and I love fried zucchini flowers (you can find the step by step recipe  here ). So I decided to pick a few little zucchini with the flowers still attached and to stuff them. Clean the vegetables and flower, remove the stigma and the styles. Do not detach from the young zucchini. Mix a few tablespoons of ricotta with a pinch of salt, pepper, roughly broken basil leaves and a drop of olive oil. Stuff the flowers and twist the top to seal. Make a batter with egg, flour, a pinch of salt and thin with a little cold beer of water. Dip the zucchini and flowers in the batter to coat and then pan fry with olive oil, turning them so that they cook on all sides. They should be golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and serve. Use the remaining batter to coat zucchini slices, or sage leaves ( look here! ) or anything you like.   Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

I have beautiful sage leaves in the garden now, big and fat, perfect for frying! Make a batter with egg, flower and a pinch of salt, add some cold water to thin it down and coat the sage leaves. Fry in hot olive oil, drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Serve with aperitivo. you can also fry sage leaves without batter, just as they are, they are delicious! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©