Broccoli dumplings with ricotta cheese - Polpette di broccoli con ricotta - Okruglice od brokule s ricotta sirom

This recipe is part of the contest Kuvarigrice, our host for February 2016 is Kata

I adore kale, cabbage and broccoli, but I hate cauliflower! Isn't it strange?

Cauliflower is one of the very few things that I don't like. More then its flavour I don't like its texture. I have always compared broccoli to cauliflower and I was hesitant to tast it. First time I ever ate broccoli was in Sweden, in December! I know what are you thinking: why should you make all those kilometers to taste broccoli for the first time...in Sweden?! But during our travels in North European countries, me and Mr.M., we used to walk and walk and we often got so hungry that I would have eaten cauliflower too, mhhh....no, cauliflower would  be still there, all alone  on the dish! In that occasion I have ordered my dish, it was main course dish with meat and vegetables and broccoli! Firstly I continued to look at those green blooms, then Mr.M. described its flavour and texture and at the end I smelled them (I was very discreet in doing it). I gathered all my courage and I ate my first small piece of broccoli. It was surprisingly sweet and solid, not mealy at all and I liked it! So I "cleaned" my dish completely and from that moment I started to thing about broccoli as a tasty and perfect winter vegetable. 

Now I often use broccoli as side dish, I prepare the soup and pasta with it, but it's my first time preparing dumplings with broccoli. During last February days I was thinking about something else to offer to my friend Kata for our contest and I'm very satisfied with the result. I hope you will also love it, especially because it is very easy, healthy and so seasonal!
To make this dish even more healthy I've decided to avoid frying the dumplings, so I baked them in the oven with very, very little olive oil.

Stuffed courgette flowers - Fiori di zucchina ripieni

L’autunno è una stagione meravigliosa, ricca di colori dalle sfumature calde: giallo, ocra, arancione, rosso, marrone, . . . come le foglie delle foreste canadesi. Iniziano ad arrivarci i frutti nuovi e dolci che hanno assorbito tutto il calore dell’estate e cercano di conservarlo il più a lungo possibile per offrircelo durante i mesi più gelidi dell’anno.

Trovo ancora dei bellissimi fiori giallo scuro, tendente all’arancione, e non resisto a non comprarli quasi tutte le volte che li vedo. Ora la loro stagione sta finendo e per chiudere in bellezza oggi vi propongo questa facile e gustosa ricetta ideale per un pranzo leggero e che ci ricorda l’estate.