One of the things I look forward to the most in the summer is fresh vegetables from the garden. On the top of my list is zucchini blossoms. For me they are a fried item that I cannot live without. Sure there are other ways of preparing and eating them but when you want the real flavor to shine I believe frying them is the best way. Since I do not grow zucchini I go to my parents for this special treat and I am lucky to get it once or twice during the summer since I now live further away. Maybe someday my own garden will be able to accommodate zucchini; however I’d probably eat all of the blossoms and my garden would not be able to yield the vegetable.
Pick your blossoms first thing in the morning when they are fully open, buy them from a local farmer/farmers market, or order them online. If you are picking them you are supposed to just use the males (which are identified by pistons), because the female flowers are what produce the fruit. However, we tried both males and females last year and they taste the same. So if you are like my parents and have an abundance of zucchini every year feel free to use both male and female flowers.
18 zucchini blossoms (if you have more or less just adjust the amount of batter)
A pint whole milk, or a mixture of milk and cream
3 heaping tablespoons flour
An egg, lightly beaten
Salt
Evoo, Vegetable oil, or Canola oil for frying
Remove the pistils, wash the blossoms gently and pat them dry just as gently. When you are ready to fry trim stems of the zucchini blossoms, but be sure to keep a good part of the stem on so you can turn them in the frying pan.
Prepare the batter by combining the milk, flour and egg. This batter will be thinner than a pancake batter.
Heat the oil.
Fry on both sides until golden brown. It will only take about 2 minutes on each side.
Once they come out of the hot oil dry them and sprinkle with locatelli cheese (you may substitute parmesan). Then enjoy! My father eats his on a sandwich with Italian bread and tomatoes; however my mother and I prefer to eat them like French fries and by popping them into our mouths one by one.
If you ever have the opportunity to eat zucchini blossoms in any shape or form go for it and you will not be disappointed. There are so many options with eating them too. You can stuff them, add to pasta, risotto, muffins, anything you’d like it just depends on how may blossoms are available to you. If you can only get a few, I still suggest frying them because it is my favorite way to eat them.
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| Fresh Picked Zucchini Blossoms |
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| Battered Zucchini Blossom |
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| Perfectly Fried Zucchini Blossoms |
These are excellent stuffed with an egg and cheese mixture as well. Mix egg, ricotta, some shredded hard cheese like Asiago, and a shredded soft cheese like mozzarella, salt, and pepper until combined. Then spoon about a tablespoon of the mixture into each flower. Fold over and secure as best you can (you can use skewers if you find them too stubborn). Then dunk them in the batter and fry. AMAZING!
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