---

Stuffed Zucchini Flowers

Chef Jean Paul Bondoux
Restaurant: Restaurant La Bourgogne
Punte del Este, Uruguay

A simple filling of chicken breast ground with seasonings, eggs and cream fills zucchini lowers, which have a tiny new baby zucchini attached. The fragile zucchini flowers will only hold for a day, so shop for this dish the day you plan to serve it.

                24 zucchini flowers, 2 to 3-inch zucchinis attached

                Chicken Breasts
                4 chicken breasts
                2 teaspoons salt
                2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
                4 whole eggs
                1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
                1 small bunch basil, stemmed and chopped

                Tomato Sauce
                2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
                1 cup black olives, chopped
                1½ cups olive oil

                1 cup chopped dried black olives
                4 basil sprigs

                With your fingers, reach into the blossoms and gently pull out the
                hard pistils. Discard them.

                To make chicken breasts: Cut the chicken breasts into large
                chunks and place in a food processor. Add the salt and pepper.
                Process for three or four pulses, then turn on the machine and add
                the eggs through the feed tube, one at a time. Pour in the cream
                and process until blended. Remove from the machine and stir in
                the basil. Put the mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a large plain
                tip. Pipe into the flowers, inserting the tip between the petals and
                filling the space. Fill two-thirds of the way up the flowers and close
                the petals around the filling.

                Place the zucchinis in the top of a steamer in a single layer and
                place over boiling water; do not let the water touch the zucchinis.
                Steam for 4 to 6 minutes, until the gourd portion is slightly
                softened and the chicken mixture has cooked through and firmed.
                Remove and place on paper towels.

                To serve: Put the diced tomato, black olives, and olive oil in a
                small pan and warm over medium heat. Cut the blossoms and
                gourds in half lengthwise. Place six halves on each plate in pairs,
                crossing the gourd portion of each pair. Drizzle with the warm
                tomato-black olive mixture. Sprinkle with black olives and garnish
                with a basil sprig.

Yield: Serves 4

GREAT CHEFS

Great Chefs® is a registered trademark of Great Chefs® Television/Publishing, GCI Inc., in the U.S. and worldwide, and may not be used for any purpose without the express written permission of Great Chefs® Television/Publishing.

Copyright © 2000 Discovery Communications Inc.

---

Send mail to the WebMaster