Anytime I go through the “Nothing to declare” corridor at the airport, I always wonder if there was anything that would cause the alarms to go off; I remember listening on the radio once that they seem to have special cameras to detect if anyone is carrying illegal products. It sounds like Sci-Fi to me and you know what, for once I was thinking that I would trigger the alarm...
Before I continue, I need to clarify that no illegal stuff was in my luggage,
but rather unusual though: some edible flowers.
In my visit to North Italy last week, I visited the local market in Alba, the gastronomical capital in Piemonte and even if there were no truffles for sale, an array of gorgeous seasonal vegetables were on display. Amongst these, I found a new harvest of baby courgettes with the flower on. It is difficult to see this type of courgette outside the region and I could not resist buying them. I kept them in a paper bag to keep the moisture and brought them home, luckily with no custom officials asking for it and me not having to explain that I was bringing courgettes as souvenir.
The courgettes, known as zuchinni in Italian, with the flower, were cooked in a simple yet traditional way: dusted with wheat flour and deep fried for a minute in boling hot sunflower oil. The tender texture of the baby courgette and the flavour of the flower with the seasoning of white pepper was a sensational treat, worth the hassle of bringing the courgettes as a companion on the airplane cabin.
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