photo: kelly huntWell, now that you've had a good look at them - aren't they just the most beautiful little buds that you've ever seen? This ...my friends... is (to those who are not familiar) the elusive Courgette Flower.
I first heard about eating courgette flowers.. or zucchini flowers on Jamie Oliver's show Jamie at Home. I tried growing zucchini a few years ago and was quite successful, but at that time I was unaware of the tasty morsel blossoming right before the fruit appeared. I payed no attention to this flower, other than admiring it's fetching yellow colour, not knowing that I could actually eat it.
The courgette flower is becoming increasingly popular, so popular that you can now find these little lovelies at the Farmers Market on a regular basis throughout July and August- only while the zucchini is blooming. I got these particular buds at the Trails End Market on Dundas Street.
Here is what I decided to do with them.
I soaked them, because apparently this makes the flowers easier to work with.. I did not think it helped, keep in mind that they are a delicate thing, so you just have to take your time, chill out.. sip some wine, and think like a zucchini. The next step was to remove all the stamens out of the flowers.
Then I decided on what to stuff in them. I went with capers, sun dried tomatoes (in oil), some fine sea salt, a dash of pepper, some local goat cheese and fresh basil. I mixed this all together, just till it was blended and then.. the challenging part.. with a spoon, I lightly stuffed the little courgette flowers with my mixture, it was not too hard, just a little time consuming. I then twisted each end closed, so the mix would not fall out.
Then, I mixed up a simple batter of 1/4 cup flour, 3 eggs, 3/4 cup of milk and salt to taste. I heated up in a deep pan, about 2 or 3 inches of oil. I used a combo of sunflower and olive oil. Then dredged each flower in the batter and then popped it into the oil to fry for a few minutes. A word of advice, do not overcrowd the pan, otherwise they all stick together and you get a courgette blob.
Once they are all fried, I just let the grease run off of them onto a paper towel and then we ate them! I feel that you really need something to dip them into, I went with a chili sauce type of thing, but Sean preferred his with wasabi mustard, to each his own.. chacun a son gout!
A lot of work for a meal, but wow... it looks good!
I love the idea of eating flowers, but haven't doen it since I was a kid. Marigolds are peppery!
hmmm marigolds heh.. i'll have to try it!
that looks deliciuos!
arlene,
Silverdale florist
Holy crap didn't realize you were Chef Kelly! That sounds amazing! What kind of wine would you serve?
Leslie
i went with beer! but i think you'd have to go with a white wine.. i dont drink much white.. i'm a die hard red gal.. but I'd probably go with a Gewürztraminer...alas..you'll have to find some savvy red head with a blog that knows her wine pairings to get a decent answer.. unless anyone else has any suggestions?
I have been making stuffed zuchini flowers for years. (in fact I had them last night for dinner). I stuff mine with a mixture of fried bread crumbs, chopped olives, lemon zest and parmesan. I used to coat them in tempura batter and depp fry them but this is messy and time cosuming. Now I just stuff them, drizzel with olive oil, and stick them on a hot griddle pan for 5-10 mins. Much quicker and healthier. It's a quick meal that only takes me about 20 mins icnl cooking time. I've even started keeping my bread crumb mixture in the frezzer which make it even quicker!
that sounds like a delicious way to eat them... and lucky for you to have zucchini flowers already this time of year - you must be south.. we dont even see the rhubarb yet!