Of all the recipes I came across I decided to use one by Australian chef Curtis Stone.
Ingredients
150ml balsamic vinegar
12 courgette flowers, attached to courgettes
groundnut oil, for deep frying
For the stuffing:
250g ricotta cheese
2 basil leaves, shredded
squeeze of lemon juice
50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and fresh ground black pepper
For the batter:
100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
120ml fizzy mineral water
1. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and boil for a few minutes until reduced to a syrupy consistency. Set aside.
Mix together the ricotta, shredded basil leaves, lemon juice and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
Trim the courgette flowers from the courgettes and shake free of any insects. Slice the courgettes in half lengthways and set aside. Carefully open the flowers and filll them with the ricotta mix. Be gentle as they are very delicate. I ended up using my fingers as even the smalles spoon i had - a tiny coffee spoon from home, proved not to be the best tool.Perhaps experience makes it better. Twist the end of the flower to keep the stuffing in place. To make the batter pour the water into a shallow dish and gradually whisk the flour through a sieve, making sure there are no lumps. The batter should have the consistency of thick pouring cream.
Pour enough oil into a high-sided frying pan to come to a level of about 3cm. Heat until very hot but not smoking. Roll the stuffed flowers and courgette halves in flour. Working in small batches, quickly dip them in the batter, swirling to coat, and then into the pan. Deep-fry for 1-2 minutes until the batter is crisp and golden. Put them on a dish lined with kitchen towel to drain the excess fat - if any. Place in a warm serving dish, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar.
I also used some of them to prepare some halibut I had in the fridge.It is a very simple and quick dish. If you cannot find the flowers it is ok to use very finely cut courgette strips.
halibut or sea bass
courgette flowers
olive oil to drizzle
sal and freshly ground black pepper
13 comments:
Lucky you to cook zucchini flowers! Miam!
Béa, I couldn't believe my luck when I came across them.Now I hope to be equally lucky next year again.
Beautiful. Can't believe you found them. Lucky you.
What beauties! Lovely post.
Delicious! Courgette flowers are not easy to find in my neck of the woods, too.
Paz
p.s. Congratulations on your new blog, Nos Quatro. Also, I love Tapioca.
I need to learn to read Portuguese. ;-)
Paz
hi valentina, what exquisite zucchini flowers! we hardly ever see them here in singapore, so your gorgeous post makes me very envious ;)
Oh, this looks soooooo good! I've heard that courgette flowers are quite delicious, but have never tried them yet. I only saw them in the photos of the meals at some hotel restaurant.
I've always been intrigued but never tasted a courgette flower.
In your post you said: "I decided that it would be worth every penny - or so I hoped" So what did you decide? Are they indeed worth every penny? Did they taste yummy?
Thanks for sharing these inspiring recipes and photos.
Tana, i was about to give up looking for them. I'm glad I didn't.
Fran, thank you. It took me a while to eat them as I kept staring at the flowers.
Melissa, you MUST. They are so delicate. some friends told me that sometimes they would just throw them in salads but at £1 per head I thought that I had to do something extra.
Paz,I have looked for a long time. Keep looking.I will be adding a new post to tapioca.Baked a typical Brazilian cake yesterday.
J, I wish I could post a couple to you. I am sure you would come up with something divine.
Obachan, the rumours were true. It is feast to the eye and palate.
Astrid, it as definitely worth every 'pound'. I will save up for next year.
Hi Valentina, these flowers are really beautiful, and the recipe sounds absolutely delicious too! I was thinking about getting his book (cooking with-), have you got it?
Hello, I am not sure if this post is appropriate, but I grow these courgette flowers organicly in my garden. We do eat a lot of them, but also have quite few that go to waste every day. I would be happy to sell them if anyone is interested. I could post them the same morning they have been picked. Just to add, they are delicious and sometimes my daughter will have a bowl full of them for dinner.
Since my last comment I quickly created a website where you can buy these delicacies: http://courgetteflowers.weebly.com/about-us.html
Enjoy!
P.S. we had them stuffed last night... oh my GOD! They were out of this world. Will be posting a recipe and pictures soon.
Post a Comment