squash blossoms?

[kabs]

There's been a lot of zucchini talk on this board, and I'm so glad for all the wonderful recipes! I think we'll be having a bumper crop of zuc's and summer squash this year. So, I'm printing out all your suggestions.

So, have any of you ever used squash blossoms in a recipe?

I've been told they are great stuffed and then sauteed. But in looking at the gazillions of blossoms that are in my garden at this moment, they seem so delicate! It doesn't seem like they could handle being stuffed and cooked! So, let me hear your ideas/successes/failures, please. I'm intrigued my these little guys...

Thanks~
Kim


Hey, I just found a recipe on martha's website. Thought add the link for those of you that might be interested. Note: NOT a light recipe! ;)

http://www.marthastewart.com/channels/cooking/recipesearch/RecipeCard.asp?item_id=1489&externallink=TRUE

[Anne]

We sometimes eat the blossoms raw in salads but I've never tried stuffing them. The female blossoms (ones with the start of a small fruit attached) seem to be larger and tougher than the male blossoms so they might work better for cooking? Good luck and let us know what works.

[kabs]

Anne- can you describe how the blossoms taste?

[Vanessa]

Hi my Italian Cookbook is not close by but here is a recipe from last yr. I have seen Italian restaurants use bloosoms a lot. Enjoy!
ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS STUFFED WITH TOMATOES AND PARMESAN
(Fiori di Zucca Ripieni)

Of all the aspects of Tuscan cuisine, not one stands out as much as its overwhelming variety of fresh vegetables. Zucchini is a favorite, of course, and so are the blossoms. The sweet, succulent flowers are prepared in countless ways, including fried, sautéed and, as in the following recipe, stuffed and baked. If you don't have zucchini in your garden, look for the blossoms in the supermarket or at a farmers' market. They are usually sold still attached to baby zucchini, which is how they are used in this recipe.

8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
8 ounces ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, finely chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

16 baby zucchini with blossoms attached

Lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 15x10x2-inch oval baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil. Heat 5 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and thyme and stir until breadcrumbs are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in tomatoes, cheese, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper.

Fill zucchini blossoms with breadcrumb mixture, using about 2 teaspoons for small blossoms and 1 tablespoon for large blossoms (be careful not to tear blossoms). Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumb mixture over baking dish. Place zucchini atop breadcrumbs in dish. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil over. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)

Bake until zucchini are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

[Vanessa]

FRIED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS WITH ALICI E LIMONE
Mario Batali
1 pound golden creamer potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
12 zucchini flowers
1 egg
1/4 pound marinated anchovy fillets, rinsed, drained, and roughly chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Boil potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes, until soft but not water-logged. Drain, allow to cool 10 minutes, and mash to a somewhat smooth consistency. Add the egg, anchovies, scallions, 4 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, thyme and salt and pepper, to taste.

Pick through open zucchini flowers to remove stamens and check for bugs. Using a small teaspoon, stuff each blossom with 2 teaspoons of the filling.

In a 10 to 12-inch non-stick saute pan, heat the olive oil until smoking. Place 4 flowers into the pan at a time and cook until golden brown on both sides. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange 3 blossoms on each of 4 warmed dinner plates and serve immediately, with bruschetta drizzled with best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, and lemon wedges. Yield: 4 servings

TEMPURA MUSHROOM STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS
Ming Tsai

12 zucchini blossoms, ideally, baby zucchini still attached and fanned out
2 minced shallots
2 cups roughly chopped shiitakes
2 cups roughly chopped cremini mushrooms
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons cold butter, chopped
1 tablespoon truffle oil
1 cup edamame
1/4 cup chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups rice flour
1 quart cold soda water
Canola oil to cook

In a hot saute pan coated with oil, add the shallots and mushrooms and stir. Season and cook soft, about 5 minutes. Drain the mix in a strainer, place on plate and put in the refrigerator. When the mix is cold, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Check for seasoning and transfer to a food processor and add thyme, egg, butter and truffle oil. Pulse a few times to break the mushrooms and butter into small pieces-do not puree! Transfer to a bowl and fold in edamame and chives. Using a pastry bag or ziploc with end cut off, fill blossoms full. Make tempura batter by whisking the rice flour with the soda water until a pancake batter consistency is achieved. Dip the blossoms in the batter and deep fry at 350 degrees until golden brown and delicious, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and serve immediately on a decorative platter. Yield: 12 individual servings

FRIED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS WITH BUFFALO RICOTTA: FIORI DI ZUCCA FRITTE CON RICOTTA DI BUFALA E POMODORI
Mario Batali

1 cup fresh buffalo ricotta (cow's milk is an acceptable substitute)
1 egg
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 zucchini flowers, stamens removed
1 pound fresh golden tomatoes, roughly chopped, or golden cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 leaves basil
8 leaves opal basil
1 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, scallion, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Using a small teaspoon, stuff each blossom with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling and set aside.

In a medium bowl, place the tomatoes and toss with the 2 tablespoons olive oil, basil and salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

In a 10 to 12-inch saute pan, heat the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil over high heat until smoking. Place 4 flowers at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides.

Arrange 3 blossoms on each plate, pile some of the dressed tomatoes in the center of each plate, tear the basil leaves over the plates, sprinkle with salt and serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings

FRIED STUFFED ZUCCHINI BLOSSOMS
Sara Moulton- Gourmet Magazine

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/8 cups chilled seltzer or club soda
16 zucchini blossoms, pistils removed if desired
16 2-by 1/2-by 1/4-inch mozzarella sticks (about 4 ounces)
16 flat anchovy fillets (from a 2-ounce can), drained and patted dry
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

batter stand 10 minutes. If necessary, thin batter with enough remaining seltzer to reach consistency of crepe batter.

Stuff each blossom with 1 mozzarella stick and 1 anchovy fillet, pressing ends of blossoms closed.

In a deep heavy skillet heat 1 inch oil to 375 degrees on a deep-fat thermometer. Working quickly in batches, dip blossoms in batter, coating each completely, and fry in hot oil, turning, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until golden and crisp. With a slotted spoon transfer blossoms as fried to paper towels to drain. (Make sure oil returns to 375 degrees before adding each new batch.)

Sprinkle blossoms with salt to taste and serve warm. Yields:16

[kabs]

...thanks so much for posting those recipes! I can't wait to try them!

:D

[joyous]

I read somewhere about the added benefit of eating squash blossoms. The more blossoms you eat, the less you have to worry about dealing with those pesky squash! :D

[Anne]

Hi kabs. I would describe the blossoms as slightly sweet but not perfumy. I really enjoy the added color as much as the taste.

[carolynne]

forgive my naiveness..........when do you pluck the blossoms and how does this affect the start of the zuchinni forming?

[Missi]

I made stuffed squash blossoms for my wine class dinner recently. The posted recipes sound great. I just wanted to throw in that make sure you clean the blossoms really well. I dipped mine in cold water and carefully shook them dry. Make sure you get the stamen completely out, because the yellow powder it gives off is bitter. I also recommend using a plastic ziplock bag like a pastry bag to stuff the flowers (if using a cheese type stuffing). I stuffed mine with a mixture of cream cheese, feta cheese, parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.

[Grace]

Two different kinds of blossoms grow on zucchini plants. Ones that turn into squashes, and ones that grow on skinny little stems that turn into nothing. (I think they are male and female? But I don't know which is which...). Anyway, you supposedly eat the ones that grow on skinny stems and turn into nothing. I grew zucchini last year, and my Italian neighbor got all excited and asked if she could have the blossoms. I told her to take all she wanted. She only ever took the ones that turn into nothing. I had plenty of zucchini, and some of those big GIANT ones, that people are talking about in the other thread! (They grow fast - if you don't check the plant all the time, that's what you'll get!)

[kabs]

Just wanted to let you all know that I tried a squash blossom recipe that I found in the CL archives. (It was posted by Lorilei- thank you! :) )

This recipe was for Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms, and OH MAN! What a treat! They got rave reviews~

I used reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream, but you end up frying them in oil anyway. But they were very delicious! Very delicate. What a special treat if you can find/spare the blossoms. We had them with the pork tenderloin recipe from the June issue (my mind is drawing a blank on the name of the recipe- it had capers, olives, white wine sauce...) and the vermicelli recipe that was with it. What a GREAT COMBINATION! I highly recommend the meal. Here's the link to the squash blossom recipe if anyone's interested:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=1153&highlight=squash+blossoms

Vanessa- I really wanted to use your zucchini blossoms stuffed with tomatoes and parmesan recipe, but didn't want to use up my budding zucchini's. I will try them if and when I get an abundance of zucchini's. I used the blossoms (the male ones) that didn't have a zucc or squash attached to it, just a stem.

Just wanted to give you all a report- thanks for the recipes!

Kim