This is perfect for entree or appetizer

Ingredients:  Asparagus

- Prosciutto which can be replaced with sliced ham

- Feta cheese, or you can choose from a variety of your favorite cheese like camembhert or mozarella (which must be combined with other cheese like parmesan or cheddar for more taste and flavor)

- olive oil and ground black pepper

Here’s the simple steps to prepare it:

First, lay down prosciutto slices and put 3 pieces of asparagus on top;  Sprinkle with crumbed feta cheese;  Season with black pepper; Wrap around the asparagus with the prosciutto; Arrange several pieces of this wrap on a baking tray; Drizzle with olive oil;  Bake for 15 minutes at 175′ or until the prosciutto is golden brown.

It’s always nice to serve this fresh from the oven while it is still warm.  The juice on the baking tray which came from the asparagus, cheese and prosciutto can be drizzled on top before serving.  Bon apetit!

Stuffed zucchini flowers

Ingredients for the stuffing: 5 pieces zucchini flowers, cream cheese (which can be replaced by ricotta or mascarpone cheese or any soft cheese), a couple of finely chopped preserved anchovy fillets, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  A spoon or two of breadcrumbs can also be added to the mixture to make all the ingredients stick all together.

For the batter:  1 egg white, 1 whole egg, 60 grams plain white flour, 5 tbsp cold water, pinch of salt

Preparation:  1- Mix together all the stuffing ingredients and blend the ingredients well until smooth. 2- Spoon into the flowers and close flower around the mixture.  3- Make the batter by beating everything together.  4- Dip each stuffed flowers in the batter and deep fry until golden brown.

Please note that in this recipe, we use the “female” zucchini flowers.  Female zucchini flowers have more room in the middle of the petals than the male ones, which make them more ideal for stuffing recipes like this.

Zucchini is a vegetable that is similar to what we call “upo” in the Philippines.  In countries, like the Philippines, zucchini flowers can be alternated in this recipe with other vegetable flowers.  I suggest doing this recipe with “squash (pumpkin) flowers”.  It is all about experimenting.  That’s what makes cooking very interesting.