Courgette Flowers

This week we have a  special treat – Courgette Flowers. As you can imagine they’re big in Italy where they like them stuffed with Ricotta or Mozzarella then coated in a light Tempura style batter and deep-fried til golden. In Mexico they use them to stuff quesadillas and to make soup. You have 2 in your bag this week so soup is going to be out of the question but not to worry, the classic Italian style (stuffed and deep fried) is hard to beat.  This way they gently steam inside the batter and lose none of their delicate flavour. The batter you make to coat them should be as light as possible. I use self-raising flower and sparkling water which introduces lots of air but a beer batter works well too.

Courgette flowers

The flowers come attached to small super-tender Courgettes and I generally leave these attached to the flower although you can detach them and cook them separately or add then chopped finely to the stuffing.  This recipe will work with any summer squash flowers or also with pumpkin flowers.

The trick with stuffing them is not to overdo it or the Cheese will leak out. I reckon about 1/6 ball of Mozzarella is about right and to that you can add

• half a sun-dried tomato
• half  an Anchovy (minced)
• some Mexican Jalepenos – this is something I tried for the first time during the week and it’s really good

Another filling to try is soft Goat’s Cheese (about a teaspoon) and a drizzle of Honey over the finished dish just before serving really makes it.

Tempura of Stuffed Courgette Flowers

For the basic recipe you’ll need:

1 cup Self-raising flower

Sparkling water

Pinch of Salt

Courgette Flowers

Vegetable Oil

Wipe the flowers with a dry cloth and carefully open out the petals. Stuff with whatever you fancy from the ideas above (if you have any more please share!!)

Close up the petals to seal in the filling. Make the batter by mixing the flour with the Sparkling Water. Start by adding a cup then mix adding more water as necessary until you have a batter as thick as Buttermilk. Heat the oil in a pan to about 160 degrees. Before you start frying drop a tiny bit of batter into the pan and if it turns golden brown in about a minute you’re ready to go. Any faster and you should turn down the heat a little or the flowers will burn on the outside before the courgette has cooked. So, when the oil is ready coat each flower carefully and gently put them into the pan and fry until golden. This will take about 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve immediately with a squeeze of Lemon and some Salt and Pepper.

These babies are really really fragile so whatever you decide to do, do it ASAP – this evening or for lunch tomorrow to get them at their best – You won’t regret it!