Fried Squash Blossoms

Image by docman via Flickr

Well I finally was able to pick enough squash flowers so that I could make one of my favorite dishes, Squash Blossoms (or as my mother used to call them, Coogoots Flowers - Coogoots is the Italians' word for zucchini). I was able to get some beautiful open blooms from the yellow squash, zucchini and pumpkin plants; I had about a dozen blossoms in all, which made a perfect lunch for me and Michael.

Only pick the male blossoms (the ones without the fruit attached). Cut a bit of the stem as well so you have something to hold. Once you pick them they need to be used pretty quickly -- you will want to rinse them well to make sure there are no bugs, and remove the stamen from the centers. The flowers are quite fragile so be careful handling them. Lightly dry them, then dust with some flour. They then go into a batter made with the following ingredients:

4 eggs
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. finely grated parmesan or romano cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Beat the eggs well with a whisk; whisk in the flour and the cheese, the salt and pepper and mix well so that there are very few lumps. Drop the squash flowers into the batter and coat well. Heat about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, and drop the squash flowers in; fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and ENJOY!

This makes a great lunch, along with a green salad (of course with fresh ingredients from your garden!)

If you want to get really adventurous, try stuffing the blossoms with some cheese, or try some of the recipes in the following link. Mangia, y'all!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Five Ways to Eat Squash Blossoms (thekitchn.com)