Our garden this year was filled with zucchini & squash plants. So many in fact that I couldn't bare to kill any plants that made it through as seedlings and overloaded our garden using every inch available. My plan was to make use of every inch so I could have plenty of green tiger zucchinis for all of the recipes I have been craving to make. So I did! I just can't stand to see a plant be put to death simply because there's not enough space in the garden for it.
During an afternoon visit with a friend I was asked if I ever made fried zucchini flower blossoms. I looked like a squirrel in headlights. She had my complete attention and I demanded to know more. She went on to tell me about stories from her childhood growing up on Brooklyn with her mother's home cooking. During the summers her mother would pick the flowers off of the zucchini plants, then lightly batter them and fry them up. The only problem she said was that they apparently never made it to the table. I had to to get my mouth on one of these delightful things and fast, so to the garden I went with scissors in hand! I will admit cutting of these beautiful flowers just waiting to be pollinated by the bees surrounding them gave me mixed emotions. I not only felt bad for the bees (don't worry I always left them a few) but I also felt bad for the chance of that flower missing it's opportunity not to be pollinated and become a beautiful green tiger stripped zucchini. But they were being scarified for something so much more, goat cheese fried flower blossom fritters. I had plans for these delicate flowers and they were going to be big. Really big!
After doing some research on how these babies were prepared I decided that my version would have to contain goat cheese. Goat cheese is a regular in my shopping cart. Mostly I use goat cheese in salads, balanced with fresh greens, a seasonal fruit, toasted nuts accompanied by a light vinaigrette dressing. When I first discovered goat cheese 10 years ago I remember being at a beautiful bed & breakfast and thinking "Where have you been my whole life?". Nowadays there's hardly a week that goes by that its not part of my regular dinner rotation.
For this goat cheese recipe I needed to remain light to compliment my Mediterranean Summer Goat Cheese Flower Blossom Burger w/ Avocado & Chili Mayo recipe that was was my long term goal for them. But clearly they can be eaten just by themselves as we also did that. Almost a prelude to the burger. Or simply use them as an appetizer. They are easy, delicious and elegant! I recommend bringing these out for a wine & cheese tasting evening. They are so unique that they will have your guests talking about them for the entire event.
Certainly a fresh raspberry dipping sauce would compliment these beautifully but as soon as they are who needs to waist time on a sauce? If you love these make sure you try my Mediterranean burger recipe for them.
I prepared these upon the return of my friend who initially informed me of the concept of working with zucchini flower blossoms. I have to admit I was a little nervous about having her try them after hearing the love for her mothers recipe. The biggest compliment after her trying my recipe came a the following week after stumbling across a recipe for zucchini flower blossoms in one of my Mediterranean cookbooks. It sounded similar to what she had described to her childhood recipe. So I quickly took a photo and sent it to her. She replied "that's exactly like my mothers recipe!". I told her that I could copy it down for her so she could recreate it. Her response? "No, I want your recipe instead. The goat cheese just takes them to a completely different level". I laughed feeling completely flattered. So this recipe is dedicated to her.
Goat Cheese Zucchini Flower Blossom Fritters
Makes 8 flower blossoms
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Wine to Pair With
Sauvignon Blanc
Ingredients
4 oz goat cheese (soften)
Tsp lemon zest
Tbsp finely chopped green onions
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup sparkling seltzer water
1/3 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup grape seed oil
Fresh herbs for garnishing
Directions
Combine goat cheese, lemon zest, green onions, salt & pepper in small bowl. Transfer to piping bag. Or use small zip lock bag with corner trimmed off. Set aside
Carefully remove flower stem & pistol with scissors. Rinse with cold water and lay on cloth towel to dry.
Combine gluten free flour, seltzer water and kosher salt. Set aside.
Gently stuff the flower blossoms as full as they will allow ensuring that you can still flip the petals over each other to create a seal.
Heat grape seed oil in heavy bottom fry pan. Test oil temperature with a small drop of batter. Dip fully each stuffed flower blossom dripping any excess. Gently place into hot grape seed oil. Fry until golden, approximately 3 minutes. Flip and fry other side for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from pan and place on platter. Garnish with fresh herbs & serve.
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