La Cucina Italiana - De Italiaanse Keuken - The Italian Kitchen

It’s that time of year … borage shows up at markets with its intensely blue, five-petal flowers, which is why this herb is also known as “starflower”. Nature can be such a ham with excess on occasion but it cannot be denied that she knows a trick or two about seduction. Borage looks so … so … “fresh” and “vivid” and come-hither, reminding us that Spring is all about promise and potential, renewal and re-jewel. Borage is very Alice in Wonderland … Eat Me.[...]
Once trimmed, the borage needs proper cleaning, I was able to wash and rinse them in the kitchen sink.
When the water came to the boil, I added some salt and gently slid the borage leaves into the pot. The idea is to wilt the borage, so only a few minutes of simmering will suffice. Drain the borage and allow to cool. Shape the borage into little patties ... [...]

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Via Mariano Pallottini

There’s a saying in Italian: fritte son bone anche le scarpe, even shoes taste good when they’re fried. And it’s so true.
Fried vegetables are not at all hard to make, but they can be time consuming, as the various vegetables need to be peeled and cut up, then parboiled, and then fried. One way to cut down on this work is to use frozen vegetables, which respond very well to this treatment. And, in the US at least, the quality of frozen vegetables is often comparable, in some cases superior, to that of fresh ingredients (see below). Today we had artichoke hearts, cauliflower florets and asparagus, all of which come already parboiled and cut into pieces. All you need to do is let them defrost, then roll them in flour, dip them in a mixture of eggs beaten with finely chopped parsley, salt, pepper and just a bit of grated pecorino cheese. Shallow fry them gently in a mixture of olive and canola oils (or in a light olive oil) until they turn a light golden brown.

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Via Mariano Pallottini