This beautiful purple, violet infused, vinegar works perfectly in salad dressings, particularly dressings for salads featuring white meats and fish, and it is so very easy to make!
Violets from the garden…
Violet Vinegar
Category:
Condiment
Style:
Australian
Keyword:
Vinegar, Violet, White Wine Vinegar
Author: sbaskitchen
-
½ - ¾
cup
violet flowers
(viola odorata) also known as sweet violets, wild violets, or woodland violets
-
1
cup
white wine or champagne vinegar
-
Half fill the glass jar with freshly picked violet flowers, approximately ½ - ¾ cup.
-
Pour the vinegar over the flowers.
-
Seal the jar with a non-reactive lid and place the jar in a cool, dark place for 1-2 weeks. After this time the flowers will have leached their colour into the vinegar, and the vinegar will have a violet aroma.
-
Drain the liquid from the flowers, discard the flowers and pour the violet vinegar into a bottle.
-
Seal, date and store in a cool, dark place.
- If the flowers are soiled, gently wash them and lay them out on a tray until the moisture from the water has dried.
- Some people place the jar in direct sunlight, however I choose to place it in a cool dark place, as I do when making tarragon vinegar.
- The color of the vinegar will change with time.
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Yum
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This is my adaptation of the recipe Mozzarella-Stuffed Zucchini Flowers, a recipe created by three Michelin star chef Gérald Passédat and featured in the beautiful book “Flavours from the French Mediterranean”.
Category:
Entree, Main, Starter
Style:
French
Quantity: 4 serves
Author: sbaskitchen
For the tomato sauce
-
12
ripe roma tomatoes
-
2
shallots
-
1
clove
garlic
-
1
tbsp
olive oil
-
3
sprigs of time
-
2
tsps
tomato paste
-
Salt
sugar and freshly ground black pepper to season
For the stuffing and decoration
-
100
g
buffalo mozzarella
-
250
g
various heritage cherry tomatoes
-
1
small bunch of basil
-
¼
cup
freshly grated parmesan cheese
-
1
lemon
-
Salt and pepper
-
Wash the Roma tomatoes, remove the stalks and cut a cross in the base of each one using a sharp knife. Immerse them in boiling water for 15-20 seconds, drain and then immediately plunge them into ice cold water. Drain again and remove the skins.
-
Quarter the tomatoes, remove the cores and scoop out the pulp and seeds. Set out two bowls and chop the flesh of four tomatoes, placing it, together with the pulp and seeds from all of the tomatoes into one bowl. Place the flesh of the other eight tomatoes into the other bowl.
For the tomato sauce
-
Finely chop the shallots and garlic, and sweat them in a pan with the olive oil, add the combined tomato pulp, seeds and flesh, paste and thyme and simmer, covered for 20 minutes, season with salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
-
Puree in a blender or food processor and then pass through a sieve. Discard any solids and set the sauce aside.
For the stuffing and decoration
-
Cut a few small wedges from the mozzarella and set aside for decoration.
-
Dice the remaining mozzeralla and the reserved tomato flesh, then finely chop the basil leaves. Place into a bowl, add the parmesan and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper,
-
Carefully open the zucchini flowers and remove the stamens and then, using a spoon, fill them with the stuffing, twisting the tops of the petals together to close.
To Finish
-
Preheat the oven to 150˚C / 300˚F.
-
Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half, season with a little salt and pepper, mix to combine and set half aside for decoration.
-
Arrange the stuffed flowers in a gratin dish, pour over the tomato sauce and scatter around the reamaining cherry tomatoes. Bake for 20 minutes.
-
When cooked, garnish with reserved mozzarella and cherry tomatoes and serve.
- Adapted from the recipe Mozzarella- Stuffed Zucchini Flowers, Passedat, G (2015) Flavours from the French Mediterranean, Flammarion, Paris, pp 38-39.
- You will need approximately one cup of sauce.
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If you have a moment, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you see on
this page – just pop a note in the comments box below.
With many thanks and kindness,
Julie.
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Today I thought you might enjoy a stroll through our Vegie Patch. Lots of photos and very few words – A break from the kitchen…
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Aubergine / Egg Plant
The Aubergines / Egg Plants
Aubergine / Eggplant / Melanzano – Violetta di Firenze
Aubergine / Eggplant – The Flower
Aubergine / Egg Plant – Lebanese
Aubergine / Eggplant – The Flower
Aubergine / Egg Plant – Hand-Grafted Bonica
Beans
Bean – Climbing – Purple King
Bean – Borlotti – a failure
Bean – Dwarf – Gourmet Delight
Beets
Beetroot
Swiss Chard
Berries
Brassicas
Broccoli – Romanesco
Broccoli – Romanesco
Brassicas – looking a bit mottly
Corn
Courgette / Zucchini
Courgette / Zucchini
Courgette – Zucchini – Gold Rush
Courgette – Zucchini – Ronde de Nice
Cucumbers & Cornichon
Flowers
Calendula for the bees and our salads
Nasturtiums
Green Stuff
Lettuce – Oak Leaf – running to seed
Red veined sorrel
Rocket
Sorrel
Herbs & Aromats
Chives
Coriander flowers – Seed Saving
French Tarragon
Garlic Chives
Horseradish
Lemon Grass
Lemon Verbena
Oregano
Parsley
Vietnamese Mint
Basil
Mint
Onions
Shallots
Spring Onions
Spring Onions & Clumping Red Spring Onions
Other Stuff
Asparagus – from Navarre – it was so hard not to pick it this yet
Celery
Florence Fennel
Peas
Peas – Telegraph – all finished
Snow Peas
Peppers
Capsicum – Long Sweet Yellow
Capsicum – Sweet Mama
Chilli Apache
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Pumpkin – a baby
Pumpkin – Turkish Turban
Pumpkin Flower
Pumpkin Vine – From the Compost
Rhubarb from Navarre
Rhubarb from Navarre
Rock Melon
Rock Melon – From the compost
Rock Melon – Noir des Carmes
Seed Saving
Coriander flowers – Seed saving
Parsley – Continental – Seed Saving
Swiss Chard – Seed Saving
The Bees
Coriander Flowers – for the bees
Cornichon flower being polinated by these wonderful little friend
Pumpkin – The bees at work – First there were two
Pumpkin – The bees at work – Then Three
Pumpkin – The bees at work – Then four – a bit of a party happening!
Savoury – The bees at work
Tomatoes
Tomato – Yellow Pear
Tomatoes – Andy’s – seeds from our late friend and neighbour – he was such a wonderful source of knowledge
Tomatoes – From the compost
Tomatoes – Green Tiger
Tomatoes – Rouge de Marmande
Tomatoes – Rouge de Marmande
Tomatoes from the compost
My favourite pics…
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I hope that you have enjoyed joining me on a stroll through our vegie patch. It’s one of my favourite places to be. Can you believe that just three months ago, we did not have a vegie patch! I am looking forward to working and watching it through the seasons ahead.
Until next time…
Happy gardening and…
Bon appétit!
Links:
The Vegie Patch
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