Zucchini Sformato with Bologna Polpettine
Here is a Bologna classic, a vegetable sformato served with tiny Polpettine alongside. It was the main course we made ona recent cooking class and we as we found zucchini flowers in the market we went one further and lined the mouls with zucchini flowers. I can't have explained the method well enough, because my guests thought the Sformato would be served in the cups not turned out, so they lined the moulds with the golden part of the blossoms "on top", which when turned out becomes the bottom of course. I think they look great this way too, with all the nice pale and dark green stripes.
I've said it before and I'll saying it again,. Sformati are absolutely wonderful, really light texture, totally scrumptious! Here's the recipe for 4 people:
500g (a pound) fresh zucchini (courgettes), a thick béchamel (made with 40g (1 and a half ounces) of flour, 40g of butter, and 250ml(a cup) of milk), 3 eggs and an extra egg yolk, 100 ml (scant quarter cup) of cream, 50 g ( generous 1 and a half ounces)of Parmigiano-Reggiano, nutmeg, salt and pepper, butter and flour or fine breadcrumbs for the mould
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Bring a pan of water to the boil, add salt and cook the vegetables till tender. Lift out and place in cold or iced water leave to cool, then drain, pat dry and whiz to a cream in a food processor or with a stick blender. If you have neither but have a food mill then putting them through that will give you an even smoother texture.
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Prepare four individual mould or one larger ring mould - preferably non stick - by buttering and lining with breadcrumbs or flour. To make sure they turn out easily either use throw away alu-foil or else cut a piece of cooking foil to fit the base, butter it and place that in the bottom of your already buttered mould(s). If anything sticks it's going to be the bottom, which needs to look pretty as it becomes your top.
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 ° F
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Heat the milk while you cook the flour in the melted butter whisking to make a smooth roux ( a well blended paste of the two ingredients) which you cook on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the boiling milk to the roux all at once off the heat and whisk hard to smooth it all out. Cook a further 7 minutes or so to lose the floury taste.
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Mix the zucchini puree into the besciamella, then add the cream. Next stir in the eggs and yolk: they need to go in one at a time, not adding the next one until the first has been fully incorporated into the mixture. Stir in the grated cheese and season the mixture with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
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Pour the mixture into the prepared mould/s, tap on a surface to make sure the mixture settles evenly, and bake in a waterr bath for 30 – 45 minutes (depends on the size and shape of the mould) then test with a tooth pick - it should come out very lightly flecked for a softer texture, totally clean and the sformato would be a little on the dry side
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Allow to cool a little then turn out and serve with very tiny meatballs, or with a cheese or tomato sauce if serving on its own.
The ring mould version of the Sformato, again carefully lined with zucchini blossoms, looks pretty spectacular!
