An old adage syas that you should look innovation inside tradition. Elaborate the peculiar elements of our history and re-elaborate them according to a contemporary sensibility. This is true especially in the kitchen.
Sciurilli | Ph. Enrico Nocera - Trentaremi
How many traditional recepies are transformed, re-elaborated, thought over in order to offer always new tastes? A tendance this one that goes against those who intend cooking in a pure way – sometimes they have every right to – but at the same time this tendance can open surprising new horizons if the raw ingredients and the cooking procedures are respected. Innovation in tradition in the Neapolitan cooking is easily findable. Lets think of how trendy it is today the use of flowers in cooking: on meat, on raw fish and even on desserts. We can say that this is an innovative trend in contemprary cooking. In Naples flowers have been used for centuries. It comes from a “poor” cooking, homemade tradition. We are talking about “sciurilli”, the flower of zucchini (and even of the pumpkin) that states only one thing: summer has arrived.
The Neapolitan “sciurillo” is fried ready to be eaten as a starter or as a delicious finger food in any moment of the day (maybe even wrapped around the typical “cuoppo”). The lighter version that we want to prenset you is the easiest one to cook: you will only need flour, bread crumbs, water, salt, pepper frying oil and of course zucchini flowers. A version that respects the delicacy and tenderness of such a tasty flower with his typical orange color – if born from the zucchini plant – or yellow – if born from the pumpkin. Other versions typical of the Neapolitan and Italian cooking tradition require stuffing with ricotta cheese or with provola cheese. There are those, in central Italy, that also add anchovies to add that salty taste. Here, we repeat, we are tasting the original and most authentic version of this small miracle coming from our garden.
Sciurilli fried | Ph. Enrico Nocera - Trentaremi
How did the idea of eating flowers became popular even before the concept of “fusion” cooking? The answer is simpe: practical reasons. Cutting the flower from the zucchini was like telling to the plat to produce more and more for more and more time. And since nothing has to be thrown away from the garden the idea of inventing a recipe that could give value to this flower was born.