Risotto Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Zucchini risotto is another of the many variations of the classic Italian rice dish. To add a little twist, I stuffed the risotto into edible zucchini flowers from our garden. I asked Lulu to plant zucchini in the garden at the beginning of March and I've been patiently waiting for at least 12 zucchini flowers to blossom. Early this morning, my little munchkin and I ran to the garden and found the flowers blooming. They made a beautiful decoration for our dinner meal, and are a wonderful sign of the season. Spring is definitely in bloom.

If zucchini flowers are hard to come by in your area, you could always serve the risotto as is. You’ll miss out on the “oohs” and “aahs” though! By itself zucchini can be bland, so I added some chimichurri sauce and pecorino cheese to enhance the flavor and aroma. This is especially important if you don’t have the flowers on hand. I didn’t want to add nuts (one person in my family is allergic to them), but they would be a welcome addition as well.

Goat Ricotta Cheese and Pine Nut Stuffed Baby Zucchini

I typically serve stuffed zucchini as a side dish. It is very similar to my eggplant rollup recipe. It's very creamy and hearty and is a great accompaniment to red meat, such as a steak or some lamb chops.

What I love most about this dish is that it looks very healthy. But appearances can be deceiving. The green zucchini is the perfect cover for all the cheese and pine nuts that are stuffed inside. It may not be that good for you, but it surely is good. If you still feel guilty after eating this or any other of my recipes, do what the French do: chase after a bus, a train or a metro. I did this for the first 24 years of my life. If that's not possible, you can always go for a walk.