Daily Excerpt from Diary of a Tuscan Chef!

Today's excerpt from Diary of a Tuscan Chef is the recipe for Fagottini di Zucchini, which is a Zucchini Pocket. While it may utilize a particular ingredient that is not exactly of Italian cuisine, this dish is a Tuscan treat that is sure to add the delicious flavors of zucchini to your meal!

Fagottini di Zucchini

Zucchini Pockets

Sour cream isn’t an ingredient you’d ever find in Tuscany, but it makes the pastry crust extra flaky. At Vipore, we make fagottini with homemade puff pastry, but it’s complicated to prepare. You can cheat with frozen puff pastry.

(MAKES 12)

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste

¾ cup vegetable shortening

2 tablespoons cold water

2 table spoons sour cream

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 2/3 cups finely chopped zucchini

2/3 cup finely chopped shallots

¼ cup white wine

4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano

4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1 egg, beaten

In a bowl, combine the flour with the teaspoon of salt, then cut in the vegetable shortening. Sprinkle the water and the sour cream over the flour mixture and work the dough into a ball. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the oil, zucchini, and shallots in a medium-size sauté pan and cook over medium heat until the juices given off by the zucchini are nearly evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the white wine, oregano, parsley, mint, and tarragon, and cook until the wine completely reduces, 8 to 10 minutes. The mixture should not be too dry. Add salt and pepper and let the mixture cool.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to about a 1/8 – inch thickness. With a glass or a cookie cutter, cut out circles about 4 inches in diameter. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the zucchini mixture into the middle of each circle. Brush the edges of the circles with the beaten egg and fold the dough over to form a half moon. Press down around the edge with the tines of a fork to seal the dough shut. Place the fagottini on a cookie sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Serve.